Evaluation of chemical composition, antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic activities of the essential oil based nanoemulsions of Cinnamomum litseifolium

In the present study, antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic activities of nanoemulsions of the leaf essential oils of Cinnamomum litseifolium Thwaites collected from two different locations in the Western Ghats namely, Kannikatty, Kalakad Mundandurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu (Cl-1) and Karamanayar, Agasthyamalai hills, Kerala (Cl-2), India were studied. Essential oils were extracted from the leaves and characterized by GC-FID and GC-MS. Slight variation in the composition of leaf essential oils was observed. Essential oil based nanoemulsions were prepared using a surfactant (Tween-80), co-surfactant (propylene glycol) and an emulsifier (lecithin) by homogenization followed by ultra-sonication. Upon characterization, the nanoemulsion of Cl-1 showed better stability than Cl-2. Both nanoemulsions inhibited alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase enzymes with IC50 values of 1.998 and 0.780 mg/mL for Cl-1 and 3.587 and 1.455 mg/mL for Cl-2 respectively.