Pharmaceutically effective DHA emulsion: Improved therapy for cognitive disorders Harmanpreet Singh1, Subheet Kumar Jain1 1Department of pharmaceutical Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India, 143005
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3-fatty acid essential for the normal physiological development of the brain. It is recommended in pregnancy and to neonates, as its deficiency has been associated with cognitive disorders. Though, DHA administration has emerged as an attractive therapeutic approach, it suffers from two major drawbacks from pharmaceutical perspective. DHA is vulnerable to oxidation which leads to rancid odor and taste on storage and its lipophilic nature results in low bioavailability. Thus in the present study, pharmaceutically stable DHA formulation was prepared to overcome organoleptic and bioavailable properties using novel composition. DHA emulsion was prepared with wet gum method using combination of different gums, emulsifiers and stabilizers in order to develop a pharmaceutically stable and palatable DHA emulsion. The prepared emulsion was further characterized for in vitro parameters like shelf life stability, peroxides formation, sensory analysis and bioavalibility. The in vivo analysis included formulation evaluation in melamine induced cognitive dysfunctioning in rats with measurable variables as antioxidants, normal object recognition and Morris water test. The prepared emulsion was found to be stable with no phase separation and reduced peroxide (16.8 meq/kg) formation in comparison to DHA oil (36.7 meq/kg) and commercial formulation (44 meq/kg) during 3 months of accelerated storage analysis. Prepared emulsion was found to be palatable, smooth and free from obnoxious reflux on performing the sensory analysis. The bioavailability of DHA from the prepared formulation was increased in comparison to DHA oil and commercial formulation which resulted in increased concentration of DHA in the brain tissue. On in vivo analysis, in melamine induced cognitive disorder in rats, the administration of prepared emulsion revealed (p> 0.01) significant improvement in exploratory behavior in NOR test and latency time in MWM test, whereas no significant change was observed on treatment with DHA oil. Further (p> 0.01) significantly increased levels of GSH and CAT antioxidants were observed in rat brains fed on prepared emulsion compared to DHA oil and commercial formulation. The developed emulsion of DHA had improved palatability and bioavailability. The in vivo activity of DHA emulsion provides critical insights on the possible mechanism of restoring the hippocampal synaptic plasticity of neurons and augmenting the antioxidant system.
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