Design and production of methyl jasmonate nanoemulsions using experimental design technique and evaluation of its anti-cancer efficacy

Methyl jasmonate (MJ), a plant-derived stress hormone, has been shown to be a promising anti-cancer agent with high selectivity toward cancerous cells. The aim of the present study was to design a MJ loaded nanoemulsion (NE) to overcome the low MJ water solubility and also improve its anti-cancer efficiency. Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to optimize the composition effect of three independent manufacturing variables on two responses including average droplet size and poly dispersity index (PDI). ANOVA analysis indicated that both of the studied responses were well fitted by resultant quadratic models with the coefficient of determinations (R-2) 0.994 and 0.975, respectively.The actual average droplet size 75.06 nm and PDI 0.017 obtained for the optimum MJNE was in good agreement with those values predicted with numerical optimization. Physicochemical characterization indicated that the optimum MJNE was transparent, isotropic, spherical and sterically stabilized. MTT assay indicated that MJNE was more efficacious in killing cancer cells than MJ solution. Cell cycle analysis revealed that MJNE induced a stronger sub-G1 arrest than MJ solution. A considerable absence of toxicity was achieved for MJNE and blank NE in HUVEC normal cells. These results may provide strong support to develop a NE delivery system as a promising carrier for improving the safety and anti-cancer efficacy of MJ.