Fecha de publicación: -- Fuente: PubMed "olive oil" Curr Drug Targets. 2026 Oct 14. doi: 10.2174/0113894501515184261009095214. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION: Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia (CIA) is a stressful effect associated with cancer therapy, mainly affecting hair follicles. Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), a bioactive polyphenol, can be used for its antioxidant and hair growth-promoting effects. Hence, in this study, an EGCG- and olive oil-loaded emulgel was formulated to treat CIA.METHOD: EGCG-loaded emulgel was formulated using a factorial design with a QbD approach. Characterisation included rheological studies, transmission electron microscopy, particle size analysis, spreadability, and swelling index analysis. In vitro release and ex vivo studies were also performed. An in vivo study was conducted in rats, and the presence of EGCG in serum was detected by HPLC.RESULTS: The optimised emulgel showed optimum rheological behaviour, and the particle size was 0.470 ± 0.14 μm with a zeta potential of -32.9 ± 2.3 mV. The in vitro release study showed maximum release of 59.44 ± 3.10% at the 7th hour. Ex vivo studies showed measurable skin deposition (212.08 ± 7.22μg/cm²) and limited transdermal permeation (23.50 ± 2.14% at 12 h). In vivo studies in a rat model demonstrated significant hair growth in the group treated with the optimised formulation. Furthermore, HPLC analysis of serum samples showed no detectable EGCG peak above the limit of detection of the method, suggesting minimal or no systemic absorption under the current analytical conditions.DISCUSSION: The CIA adversely affects quality of life, and current treatments have limited efficacy. EGCG and olive oil show hair growth-promoting and antioxidant effects but suffer from poor dermal delivery and stability. Emulgel enhanced the stability and also provided significant sustained release. An in vivo study demonstrated that EGCG-olive oil-loaded emulgel can be a promising treatment strategy for CIA.CONCLUSION: Emulgel can be used to deliver EGCG, which addresses the limitations of formulations available and potentially can be adopted as a therapeutic approach in healthcare.PMID:42895157 | DOI:10.2174/0113894501515184261009095214