Synthesis and characterization of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with 6-gingerol isolated from Zingiber officinale Rosc.

6-gingerol is known to possess various pharmacological activities such as anticancer, obesity, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiangiogenic as well as gastroprotective activities. Dried rhizomes (1000 gm) of Zingiber officinale Rosc. was subjected to soxhlet extraction to obtain 200 gm of thick paste. It is mixed with silica gel to make fine powder of 230 gm. This fine powder is subjected to column chromatography. All fractions of n-hexane and ethyl acetate in the ratio of 6:4 and 5:5 showed the same Rf value (0.93) on thin layer chromatography (TLC), so they are mixed and evaporated to collect 6-gingerol. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of 6-gingerol showed a retention time of 9.339 min. Structure of 6-gingerol (C17H26O4) was elucidated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-1 NMR) and mass spectroscopy ( MS). Plane chitosan nanoparticles (PCNPs) and 6-gingerol loaded chitosan nanoparticles (6-GCNPs) were prepared by using ion gelation method. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size analyzer, polydispersity index (PI), and zeta-potential ( ZP). FTIR analysis showed the presence of various functional groups. The results of SEM and ZP analysis showed that 6-GCNPs have nanoparticle size (196 nm) and stability (-14.1). Our study confirms the easy method for the preparation of 6-gingerol loaded chitosan nanoparticles and put forth the way to evaluate their biological activities.