Antioxidant and cytotoxic effects of vanillin via eucalyptus oil containing self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system

In this research work, different self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) of vanillin were developed in order to enhance its antioxidant and cytotoxic effects. Various SNEDDS of vanillin were produced spontaneously by phase titration technique and were characterized for various physicochemical parameters. Optimized SNEDDS having droplet size of 19.0 nm, polydispersity index of 0.108, zeta potential of − 28.7 mV, refractive index of 1.337, % transmittance of 99.1% and drug release profile of 97.6% (after 24 h) was selected for in vitro antioxidant and cytotoxicity studies. DPPH scavenging assay showed significant antioxidant activity of optimized vanillin SNEDDS in comparison with free vanillin. However, antioxidant profile of optimized vanillin SNEDDS was comparable with standard ascorbic acid. In vitro cytotoxicity studies on colorectal human cancer cells (HT-29) indicated that vanillin in optimized SNEDDS is around two times more efficacious than free vanillin. The results of this work indicated that developed SNEDDS could be successfully used for enhancement of therapeutic efficacy of vanillin.