Anti-inflammatory effects of Z-ligustilide nanoemulsion.

The Z-ligustilide (LIG) was studied for its anti-inflammatory activities with prepared LIG nanoemulsions (LIGNE). Healthy male adult Wistar rats were used in the study. Endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) was induced by a footpad injection of 200 μg lipopolysaccharide. EIU rats were administered orally with saline, LIG (20 mg/kg/day), and LIGNE (20 mg LIG /kg/day), respectively. Twenty-four hours later, rats were euthanized, and blood was collected from either right marginal ear vein to estimate inflammatory cells and inflammatory mediators. The drug dissolution profiles of LIGNE in both phosphate buffer pH 6.8 and 0.1 N HCl showed complete dissolution within 20 min. Pharmacokinetic studies suggested a significant increase (P < 0.0001) in the C pmax and AUC0→24 h were observed in the LIGNE group when compared with the LIG group. LIGNE significantly reduced the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 beta, vascular endothelial growth factor alpha, and interleukin-17. The anti-inflammatory animal testing revealed that LIGNE led to an improvement in oral bioavailability.