Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology

Capsanthin exhibits potential therapeutic effects for various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. However, capsanthin has several limitations including its lipophilic nature and instability against oxygen, light, and high temperatures. To overcome this problem, a drug delivery system for capsanthin is needed. Therefore, this research aimed to develop a nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) as a carrier for capsanthin. The confirmation of capsanthin in capsanthin extract was carried out using FTIR and TLC analysis. The method used for the NLC preparation was a modified solvent injection method. The optimization of NLC formulations was performed using various liquid lipids followed by measuring the properties of NLC including particle size and zeta potential. The selected formulation was characterized regarding the loading capacity, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as release study. The results of FTIR and TLC confirmed the presence of capsanthin in the extract. The formulation optimization showed that the capsanthin-loaded NLC using wheat germ oil (F1) as a liquid lipid provided various properties including the particle size, zeta potential, and loading capacity of 266,5±65, 3nm; -15,0±0,4mV and 22±4%, respectively. Furthermore, a release study exhibited that capsanthin could be incorporated into NLC characterized by significantly slower capsanthin release compared to unloaded capsanthin. In conclusion, NLC can be used as a promising capsanthin carrier and applied in drug delivery systems.