Phytol-loaded soybean oil nanoemulsion as a promising alternative against Leishmania amazonensis

• Victória Louise Pinto Freire,
• Mariana Farias Alves-Silva,
• Johny W. de Freitas Oliveira,
• Matheus de Freitas Fernandes-Pedrosa,
• Alianda Maira Cornélio,
• Marcelo de Souza-Silva,
• Thayse Silva Medeiros and
• Arnóbio Antônio da Silva Junior

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1826–1836, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.126

• . Current therapies are limited due to severe adverse reactions to currently available drugs, high cost, low patient adherence, and even the emergence of resistant strains. Examining safer and more effective alternatives, natural compounds such as phytol – a diterpene derived from chlorophyll – have

• attracted attention due to their broad biological activities. To increase their solubility, stability, and cell delivery, nanotechnology-based systems, such as nanoemulsions (NEs), represent a promising approach. In this study, soybean oil nanoemulsions loaded with phytol (PHYT-NE) were developed using the

• exhibited significant time-dependent leishmanicidal activity against Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes, with lower IC50 values (up to five times lower at 48 hours) and up to 75% parasite death after 48 hours, showing greater antiparasitic activity compared to that of free phytol. Although the use of