Licorice flavonoids nanoparticles prepared by liquid antisolvent re-crystallization exhibit higher oral bioavailability and antioxidant activity in rat

Abstract The aim of the experiment was to prepare licorice flavonoids nanoparticles (LFNs) by a liquid antisolvent re-crystallization (LAR) method to improve its oral bioavailability. The experimental data suggested that the saturation solubility of LFNs was 25 times of raw licorice flavonoids (LFs), and at 720 min, the dissolution rates of LFNs in artificial intestinal juice and artificial gastric juice were 9.36 times and 11.66 times of raw LFs, respectively. Furthermore, the antioxidant capacity of LFNs was also superior to raw LFs, and the oral bioavailability of echinatin and licochalcone A in the LFNs was 10.63 times and 6.54 times higher than that of raw LF. LFNs had good biosafety for SD rats at dosages up to 800 mg/kg. Overall, the results manifested that LFNs can be helpful to the enhancement of its oral bioavailability and have a promising application value in the field of food and health care.