Dioscorea bulbifera-Loaded Phytosomes as a Novel Cardioprotective Agent: A Study on Antioxidant and Pro-Angiogenic Activity

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of cardiovascular health, emphasizing the need for cardioprotective strategies.Cardiovascular disease (CVD), primarily due to atherosclerosis, remains the leading global cause of mortality.A promising therapeutic approach is revascularization through pro-angiogenesis, which enhances blood vessel formation to restore circulation in ischemic tissues.Dioscorea bulbifera, a member of the family Dioscoreaceae, traditionally used for wound healing, contains diosgenin, a bioactive compound known to modulate vascular pathways.However, its pro-angiogenic potential remains unexplored.This study involves extraction and yield optimization of Dioscorea bulbifera tuber bio actives, followed by phytochemical screening and standardization using UV spectroscopy and Thin Layer Chromatography.Phytosomes were formulated using the solvent injection method and characterized by measuring particle size, zeta potential, and entrapment efficiency.Antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH assay & the pro-angiogenic potential was evaluated through the Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) assay, wherein it was found that Dioscorea phytosome formulation induced more proangiogenesis as compared to the crude extract.Thus, these findings confirm the antioxidant capacity and suggest a promising pro-angiogenic potential of D. bulbifera, that can hence be explored as a possible novel candidate for cardiovascular protection, within phytosomes can provide a strategic approach for enhanced cardio protection.