pullulan nanoparticles unlock glabridin's stability and bioavailability

Glabridin, a potent bioactive isoflavan from glycyrrhiza glabra, has attracted attention for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and skin-whitening properties; yet its poor solubility and instability limit practical applications. here, the successful development of pullulan-based nanoparticles (np pull–gla) was reported as a robust delivery system to overcome these challenges. using an eco-friendly self-assembly approach, glabridin was encapsulated within pullulan matrices stabilized by tween 80, yielding nanoparticles with a mean size of 145 nm, pdi of 0.425, and zeta potential of –24.4 mv, indicative of uniformity and colloidal stability. scanning electron microscopy confirmed predominantly spherical morphology, while ftir analysis revealed non-covalent interactions, primarily hydrogen bonding, ensuring physical entrapment without chemical alteration of glabridin. the formulation achieved high encapsulation efficiency (87.6%) and drug loading (8.76%), and notably enhanced glabridin solubility by approximately 7.5-fold. thermal cycling studies demonstrated retention of over 80% encapsulated glabridin after six stress cycles, highlighting the protective effect of the pullulan matrix. collectively, these results establish pullulan nanoparticles as an effective and stable platform for delivering hydrophobic phytochemicals, enhancing both solubility and stability. this strategy offers a promising route to unlock the full therapeutic and cosmeceutical potential of glabridin and similar bioactives.