Investigation of Naringin's Antifungal Potential, Optimization and Characterization of Niosomal Gel Formulation

Abstract

This research aims to assess the antifungal efficacy of Naringin and establish its minimum inhibitory concentration for the development and characterization of a niosomal gel formulation. A molecular docking study was conducted to elucidate the binding interactions between Naringin and Methionine synthase. In-vitro screening for antifungal activity against T. mentagrophytes was performed. To enhance drug stability, niosomal formulations were prepared using varying ratios of span 60 (a non-ionic surfactant) and cholesterol (a stable vesicle-forming agent) via the thin film hydration method. The niosomes were evaluated for entrapment efficiency, particle size, and polydispersity index. A niosomal gel was formulated using Carbopol 934, glycerol, and distilled water, and evaluated for physical appearance, pH, viscosity, spreadability, in-vitro drug release, in-vitro antifungal activity through an agar well diffusion method, and skin irritation for the optimized formulation. Naringin exhibited potent antifungal activity with a MIC of 50 μg/ml against T. mentagrophytes. The optimized niosomal gel formulation (Batch F3) demonstrated the highest entrapment efficiency at 75.88% and a 62.12% in-vitro release rate. The gel exhibited no skin irritation (score of 0) and a zone of inhibition of 4.6 cm in the in-vitro antifungal test. The findings suggest that Naringin possesses significant antifungal activity against T. mentagrophytes, and the newly developed niosomal gel formulation offers enhanced efficacy without causing skin toxicity.