Polysaccharides from Agave salmiana bagasse improves the storage stability and the cellular uptake of indomethacin nanoemulsions

Abstract Agave salmiana is one of the most used agave species to produce aguamiel, but once the aguamiel extraction is done, agave bagasse is discarded or used as animal feed. Agave bagasse contains high content of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, making it an excellent natural source of biopolymers. This study evaluated the effect of A. salmiana polysaccharide concentration (0, 0.5, or 1.0%) on the stability of oil-in-water indomethacin nanoemulsions under different conditions of pH (5, 7, or 9) and storage temperatures (4, 25, or 40 °C). The effects of these nanoemulsions on the cellular uptake and the production of nitric oxide as an anti-inflammatory biomarker were also evaluated. Indomethacin nanoemulsions were highly influenced by the pH, temperature, and the concentration of the agave bagasse polysaccharides (ABP) present in the continuous phase. In an in vitro model, using human skin fibroblast cells, the ABP-coated indomethacin emulsions showed improved cellular uptake of indomethacin by 3.03 and 6.33 times over the indomethacin nanoemulsion without ABP. Indomethacin nanoemulsions with 0.5% and 1.0% ABP reduced nitric oxide production by 30% comparing to indomethacin nanoemulsion without ABP. This study demonstrated the potential of agave bagasse polysaccharide as a natural emulsion stabilizer and an enhancer of topical anti-inflammatory activity of indomethacin.