Many natural products with greater therapeutic efficacy are limited to target several chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. Among the natural products from hops, i.e., Xanthohumol (XH), is a prenylated chalcone. The present research work focuses on the enhancement of the poor oral bioavailability and weak pharmacokinetic profile of XH. We exemplified the development of a Xanthohumol-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (XH-SLNs) cargo system to overcome the limitations associated with its bioavailability. The XH-SLNs were prepared by a high-shear homogenization/ultrasonication method and graphical, numerical optimization was performed by using Box–Behnken Design. Optimized XH-SLNs showed PS (108.60 nm), PDI (0.22), ZP (−12.70 mV), %EE (80.20%) and an amorphous nature that was confirmed by DSC and PXRD. FE-SEM and HRTEM revealed the spherical morphology of XH-SLNs. The results of release studies were found to be 9.40% in 12 h for naive XH, whereas only 28.42% of XH was released from XH-SLNs. The slow release of drugs may be due to immobilization of XH in the lipid matrix. In vivo pharmacokinetic study was performed for the developed XH-SLNs to verify the enhancement in the bioavailability of XH than naive XH. The enhancement in the bioavailability of the XH was confirmed from an increase in C_max (1.07-folds), AUC_0-t (4.70-folds), t_1/2 (6.47-folds) and MRT (6.13-folds) after loading into SLNs. The relative bioavailability of XH loaded in SLNs and naive XH was found to be 4791% and 20.80%, respectively. The cytotoxicity study of naive XH, XH-SLNs were performed using PC-3 cell lines by taking camptothecin as positive control. The results of cytotoxicity study revealed that XH-SLNs showed good cell inhibition in a sustained pattern. This work successfully demonstrated formulation of XH-SLNs with sustained release profile and improved oral bioavailability of XH with good anticancer properties against PC-3 cells.

Objectives: Xanthohumol (XH) is a prenylated chalcone available naturally and has diverse pharmacological activities. It has some limitations in the physiological environment such as biotransformation and less gastrointestinal tract absorption. To overcome the limitations, we prepared nanoformulations [solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs)] of XH. Therefore, an analytical method is required for the estimation of XH in the bulk nanoformulations, so we developed and validated a quality by design (QbD)-based ultraviolet (UV)-spectrophotometric method as per theMaterials and Methods: The new analytical Qbd based UV-visible spectrophotometric technique is developed and validated for estimation of XH in bulk and SLNs as per ICH guidelines Q2 (R1). Critical method variables are selected on the basis of risk assessment studies. Optimization of method variables was performed using the a central composite design (CCD) model. Results: Multiregression ANOVA analysis showed an R2 value of 0.8698, which is nearer to 1, indicating that the model was best fitted. The optimized method by CCD was validated for its linearity, precision, accuracy, repeatability, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), and specificity. All validated parameters were found to be within the acceptable limits [% relative standard deviation (RSD) <2]. The method was linear between 2-12 g/mL concentration with R2 value 0.9981. Method was accurate with percent recovery 99.3-100.1%. LOD and LOQ were found to be 0.77 and 2.36 & mu;g/mL, respectively. The precision investigation confirmed that the method was precise with %RSD <2.Conclusion: The developed and validated method was applied to estimate XH in bulk and SLNs. The developed method was specific to XH, which was confined by the specificity study.