Polymeric nanoparticle systems loaded with red propolis extract: a comparative study of the encapsulating systems, PCL-Pluronic versus Eudragit®E100-Pluronic

The aim of the present study was to compare two nanoparticle composition loaded with Brazilian red propolis extract regarding its physicochemical characteristics and its antioxidant and antileishmanial activities. The red propolis nanoparticles in an aqueous medium and in solid-state presented particle size in a nanometric scale with an apparent size of 100–288 nm for the NEPE and 175–380 nm for the NPPE. ATR-FTIR and thermal analysis revealed an encapsulation of flavonoids from the red propolis extract in polymeric matrices for the multidrug delivery system. UPLC-DAD identified red propolis markers (flavonoids) in EPE, NEPE and NPPE. The efficiency of encapsulation (28.0–55.0% for NEPE and 61.2–81.0% for NPPE) were determined and calculated using UPLC-DAD. DPPH method showed the antioxidant activity of both EPE and nanoparticle compositions of red propolis. These polymeric matrices systems were able to encapsulate flavonoids from red propolis extract with specific characteristics of solubility and polari...