Enrichment of zein nanofibre assemblies for therapeutic delivery of Barije (Ferula gummosa Boiss) essential oil

The present study intended to produce electrospun zein nanofibres containing concentrations varying from 1 to 4% w/w of Barije essential oil (BEO): BEO is said to have anti-diabetic and antioxidant properties. The BEO loaded nanofibres were characterised for chemical composition, morphology, chemical structure, thermal behaviour, alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory action. Moreover, the kinetic release of BEO in simulated gastric and intestinal media was investigated. SEM and FT-IR results indicated that BEO was successfully entrapped in the ribbon-like zein fibres and that the nanofibres showed an encapsulation efficiency close to 95%. The fibre encapsulated BEO also retained its antioxidant capacity, although it had been exposed to high strength electric fields during manufacture. BEO-loaded zein nanofibres showed alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase inhibition activity with an IC50 value ranging of 0.78 +/- 0.01 to 1.25 +/- 0.03 and 1.09 +/- 0.02 to 1.64 +/- 0.01 mg/ml, respectively. Model fitting results showed that a first-order model is effective for describing the release of BEO into simulated stomach media, a Hixon-Crowell model relates BEO release to intestinal conditions and the Rigter-Peppas model describes time of release. The study indicates that combining BEO within zein fibres is a promising route for a novel BEO delivery vehicle for diabetes control.