¹Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria
²Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
³Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, College of Pharmacy, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Nigeria DOI : 10.29228/jrp.430 Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a neglected tropical disease with complex clinical manifestations and is difficult to treat. Most treatment options currently available are old, expensive, not too effective, and usually associated with adverse drug reactions and resistance. To combat this challenge, garlic oil nanoemulsions were formulated and evaluated in this study. Six batches of the garlic oil nanoemulsions were formulated using the low-energy method. The formulations were characterized using droplet size analysis, pH, and viscosity determination. Gas chromatography of the pure garlic oil used was carried out. In-vitro antitrypanosomal activity test was carried out on three selected batches (3, 4 and 6) of the formulations using Trypanosome brucei brucei infected Wistar rats. The size distribution of the nanoemulsion droplets was unimodal with batches 2, 4 and 6 showing a droplet size of 154.6, 145.5 and 241.6 nm respectively and polydispersity indices (PDI) of 0.149, 0.195 and 0.434 respectively. There were slight alterations in the pH and viscosity of the six batches after the 3-month observation period. Gas chromatography of pure garlic oil showed major sulfur compounds which include: Sufralem, disulfide, allicin, and trisulfide. Anti-trypanosomal in vitro assay showed positive activity for all batches tested with batch 6 having a similar activity with the positive control at all the concentration ranges used. The study shows that nanoemulsion is a viable dosage form in delivering garlic oil for the treatment of trypanosomiasis at low concentrations of the oil. Keywords : Trypanosomiasis; Garlic oil; Nanoemulsion; Gas chromatography; Poly dispersity index