Preformulation Studies of Food Supplements Containing Basil (Ocimum basilicum l.) Extracts

In recent years, the therapeutic properties of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) oil were studied. In addition, some pharmacological studies have also supplied new evidence concerning antibacterial, antifungal (mainly with regard to Candida albicans), antiviral and antioxidant activity of basil extracts. The purpose of this preformulation study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of bioactive molecules from basil extracts over time. These extracts were utilized for the formulation of a supplement, based on vaginal suppository, prepared using either lipophilic-based matrix or hydrophilic matrix system. The results show the capacity of basil extracts to maintain its properties both over time (15 days) and placed in a lipophilic formulation. As far as the differences in the concentration of polyphenols and antioxidant activity are concerned, should be pointed out how important is to use plants harvested in late spring or early summer, to achieve more homogeneous results, regarding both polyphenolic concentrations and TEAC values. As far as the preparation of vaginal suppositories is concerned, the release kinetics shows that the formulative process does not interfere with the chemical constituents of basil, even if the antioxidant activity appears significantly reduced compared with the antioxidant activity of basil extracts. Further studies are necessary to increase the concentration of basil extracts in each vaginal suppository and to evaluate the antimicrobial activity.