Preparation, Characterization and Application of Niosomes for the Delivery of Herbal Bioactive Agents: A Mini Review

Abstract

The demands of herbal products including Nutraceuticals, cosmetics and drugs increased tremendously globally in recent times. Herbal compounds offer limited toxicity, high biocompatibility with numerous health benefits. The herbal drugs show many health benefits due to their presence of bioactive compounds in it. However, bioactive compounds suffer due to their poor solubility, poor bioavailability and stability. Niosomes, a non-ionic surfactant vesicle, can be a promising aspect to deliver the bioactive compound to enhance the bioavailability and stability. Niosomes have many advantages as it enables encapsulation of either hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds. Preparation methods of niosomes are also simple and inexpensive. Moreover, encapsulating bioactive compounds in niosome not only improve the bioavailability but also enable it for sustained release or controlled release drug delivery. The review highlights various methods for niosome preparation, including thin-film hydration, reverse-phase evaporation, ether injection, microfluidization and bubble methods along with their advantages and disadvantages. Additionally, the characterization techniques, such as size determination, zeta potential measurement, and morphological evaluation, are also discussed.