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image of Development and Optimization of Polyelectrolyte Complex Stabilized Piperine Adjuvant Simvastatin Nanoformulation for Improved Therapeutic Effect

Abstract

Introduction

The aim of the study was to prepare polyelectrolyte complex stabilized piperine adjuvant simvastatin nanoformulations and evaluate the antimicrobial effect. Simvastatin has antimicrobial properties but low therapeutic efficacy due to rapid metabolism, with only 12% oral bioavailability. Piperine, a CYP3A4 inhibitor, enhances bioavailability by inhibiting drug-metabolizing enzymes. This study developed chitosan-neem gum polyelectrolyte complex (Ch-NG PEC) nanoparticles combining piperine and simvastatin and evaluated their antimicrobial efficacy compared to simvastatin alone.

Methods

A flower-shaped nanoparticles of piperine adjuvant simvastatin were prepared by using chitosan (Ch)-neem gum (NG) as a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) forming agent, and the anti-microbial effect of nanoformulations with and without piperine was evaluated. A solvent-anti-solvent method was used to form the nanoparticles, and a 32-factorial design was employed to analyze the impact of chitosan and neem gum concentration on the size of the nanoparticles and entrapment efficiency of simvastatin and piperine followed by their release profile and kinetics.

Results

Nanoparticles showed high drug entrapment efficiency (simvastatin: 96.4-99.7%, piperine: 64.8-99.4%) with sizes ranging from 341.3-629.1 nm. Drug release exceeded 50% in 3 hours and 99% in 8 hours, following Hixon-Crowell and Baker’s Lonsdale models. Antimicrobial assays revealed activity against but not . The results of the anti-microbial assay indicated that the PEC-based NPs stabilized piperine adjuvant simvastatin showed anti-microbial activity against but did not exhibit anti-fungal activity against

Conclusion

Piperine-adjuvant simvastatin Ch-NG-PEC nanoparticles demonstrate potential as a dual-treatment agent for hypercholesterolemia and bacterial infections.

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2025-07-15
2025-09-10

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/content/journals/cpd/10.2174/0113816128382527250625165648
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Development and Optimization of Polyelectrolyte Complex Stabilized Piperine Adjuvant Simvastatin Nanoformulation for Improved Therapeutic Effect
Bentham Science Publishers ; https://doi.org/10.2174/0113816128382527250625165648
/content/journals/cpd/10.2174/0113816128382527250625165648
/content/journals/cpd/10.2174/0113816128382527250625165648
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  • Article Type:     Research Article
Keywords: piperine ; Chitosan ; anti-microbial ; simvastatin ; polyelectrolyte ; neem gum

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