Formulation and evaluation of nanosized hippadine-loaded niosome: Extraction and isolation, physicochemical properties, and in vitro cytotoxicity against human ovarian and skin cancer cell lines

Chemical compounds extracted from plants have been used in the development of many medicinal products. Hippadine is a compound extracted from Crinum jagus, a plant that has been widely used traditionally for the treatment of ailments such as asthma, malaria, depression, convulsions, and cancer. However, the therapeutic applications of hippadine is limited due to its poor solubility and bioavailability. In the context of drug delivery, nanotechnology has been employed widely to improve the bioavailability of poorly soluble compounds through the encapsulation and the delivery of these compounds to their target sites. This study aims to evaluate the cytotoxic activities on two human cancer cell lines of hippadine through its encapsulation into niosome nanoparticles which are a bilayer vesicle widely employed for drug delivery. Firstly, hippadine was extracted and isolated from C. jagus bulbs and encapsulated into niosome nanoparticles composed of span 60 (SP60) and cholesterol, prepared by microfluidic mixing. The prepared nanoparticles had spherical morphology, and were small, uniform, and monodisperse with an average particles size