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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.

Sec. Nutrition and Food Science Technology

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1659572

This article is part of the Research TopicAntioxidant Activities and Induction Production Approaches (Physical, Chemical and Biotechnological) of Plant-based Bioactive NutrientsView all articles

Phytosomal Delivery Enhances Bioactivity of Hylocereus costaricensis Phenolic Extract

Provisionally accepted
Rosa  DireitoRosa Direito1*Inês  SousaInês Sousa2Filipa  AntunesFilipa Antunes2Sandra  Maria BarbalhoSandra Maria Barbalho3Sandra  SimõesSandra Simões1,2Maria  Rosário BronzeMaria Rosário Bronze1,2,4,5Catarina  P ReisCatarina P Reis1,2Maria Manuela  GasparMaria Manuela Gaspar1,2Maria  Eduardo FigueiraMaria Eduardo Figueira1,2*
  • 1Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Lisboa, Portugal
  • 2Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Farmacia, Lisbon, Portugal
  • 3Universidade de Marilia, Marília, Brazil
  • 4Universidade Nova de Lisboa Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica e Biologica Antonio Xavier, Oeiras, Portugal
  • 5Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnologica, Oeiras, Portugal

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Consuming foods rich in bioactive compounds can delay chronic non-communicable diseases. Dragon fruit, known for its bioactive compounds with typically low bioavailability, attributed to high polarity, poor permeability and rapid first-pass metabolism, benefits from strategies like encapsulation to enhance efficacy. This study developed and assessed phytosomes loaded with dragon fruit extract (Hylocereus costaricensis) and compared their biological activity in vitro and in vivo against raw extract. Spectrophotometric analysis of the extract revealed 410.4 mg GAE/L of total phenolic compounds and 139.3 mg CE/L of flavonoids. HPLC-DAD-MS/MS identified key components such as citric acid, succinic acid, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, ferulic acid, betanin, and rutin. Phytosomes encapsulated 46 ± 2 % of phenolics, with a mean diameter of 1329 ± 121.0 nm, PDI 0.633 ± 0.039 and ζ-potential -16 ± 1 mV mV. Antioxidant capacities, assessed by the DPPH method, showed that phytosomal formulation with 46% phenolic content was as effective as the raw extract. In vivo antihyperglycemic studies showed no significant effect from the raw extract (5 mg GAE/kg), but phytosomes (2.3 mg GAE/kg) matched the efficacy of metformin (300 mg/kg). An acute inflammation model using carrageenan-induced paw edema indicated that phytosomes (2.3 mg GAE/kg) had superior anti-inflammatory effects compared to the raw extract (5 mg GAE/kg). In summary, dragon fruit extract has antioxidant, antihyperglycemic, and anti-inflammatory properties. These findings support that phytosomal encapsulation significantly improves the bioavailability and efficacy of phenolic-rich crude extract, highlighting their potential in functional food development, nutraceutical applications, and as helpers to conventional therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: Phytosomes, Phenolic extract, bioavailability, antioxidant, Antiinflamatory activity

Received: 04 Jul 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Direito, Sousa, Antunes, Barbalho, Simões, Bronze, Reis, Gaspar and Figueira. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Rosa Direito, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Lisboa, Portugal
Maria Eduardo Figueira, Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Farmacia, Lisbon, Portugal

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