Development of piperine nanoemulsions: an alternative topical application for hypopigmentation

Abstract

This study, it was aimed to develop a topical piperine nanoemulsion (P-NE) using an ultrasonic emulsification process to find an alternative treatment option for some hypopigmentation disorders such as vitiligo. Results showed that 150 mg piperine loaded NE with 1:2 oil phase to S_mix ratio and manufactured with 20 min ultrasonication duration with the pre-emulsification step was the most durable formulation with a mean globule size of 216.00 ± 2.65, a PdI value of 0.094 ± 0.02 and a zeta potential value of −27.50 ± 2.48 mV. After three months of storage, the selected P-NE (coded as F3P2) remained kinetically stable without visual changes. This formulation displayed a sustained release pattern with a release of 81.92% ± 3.04% piperine after 72 h. According to our in vitro activity experiments, it was determined that the P-NE had no toxic effect including the dose of 5 mg/mL, and the highest P-NE formulation dose of 5 mg/mL increased tyrosinase activity by 32.77% ± 9.09% and melanogenesis activity by 34.90% ± 0.73%. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the P-NE formulation may serve as a promising therapy for the efficient treatment of vitiligo. Moreover, P-NE formulation may also help in preventing irregular pigmentation and skin cancer, associated with the conventional treatment methods.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Piperine
• vitiligo
• hypopigmentation
• topical
• nanoemulsion
• melanogenesis
• tyrosinase activity

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of this work from the Yildiz Technical University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Department (Project No: FKG-2017-3061). In this study, the infrastructure of the Applied Nanotechnology and Antibody Production Laboratory established with TUBITAK support (project numbers: 115S132 and 117S097) was used. The authors would thank TUBITAK for their support.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by Yildiz Technical University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Department (Project No: FKG-2017-3061).