Application of transglycosylated stevia and hesperidin as drug carriers to enhance biopharmaceutical properties of poorly-soluble artemisinin

•The dissolution rate and supersaturation of ART was enhanced via co-spray drying.•Functionalized food additives (Hsp-G and Stevia-G) were used as a drug carriers.•Characteristic studies clearly indicate the amorphization of ART.•Formulated solid dispersions show a superior dissolution compared with crystalline ART.•Formulated samples possess excellent physicochemical stability for 6 months.

Biopharmaceutical properties of poorly water-soluble antimalarial drug, Artemisinin (ART), were improved by formulating amorphous solid dispersions with transglycosylated food additives (Hsp-G and Stevia-G) via co-spray drying. Both the formulated ART/Hsp-G and ART/Stevia-G showed superior dissolution properties with a burst release of more than 95% of drug within 5 min, whereas untreated ART dissolved only 4% in 5 min. The supersaturation solubility of the formulated ART was enhanced by 2-fold as compared with untreated counterpart. The storage stability tests indicated that these formulations chemically stable at room temperature and under low humidity ( < 18% RH) conditions. However, high humidity (75% RH) induced re-crystallization and caused changes in the physical appearance of the solid dispersions. In addition, both the food additives and ART formulated samples showed low cytotoxicity to Caco-2 cell line suggesting their good biocompatibility. Thus, the formation of solid dispersions of ART with transglycosylated food additives is a potentially safe and effective approach to enhance the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble ART.

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