Thainá dos Santos Dantas

Objectives: Plant-derived active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), including crude extracts, phytocomplexes, and isolated compounds, have been extensively investigated due to their therapeutic potential. However, their pharmaceutical application is often hindered by challenges such as low solubility, limited stability, and poor bioavailability. Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) have emerged as a promising strategy to overcome these limitations, enhancing solubility, dissolution, and oral absorption of these compounds, while also protecting active constituents and improving their stability. Accordingly, this review aims to explore the use of ASDs for plant-derived APIs, focusing on production methods, polymers and carriers employed, as well as characterization techniques applied to these formulations. Methods: A literature search was conducted in ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases for articles published between 2000 and 2025. Using terms related to ASDs and plant-derived compounds, 566 articles were retrieved, of which 84 met the inclusion criteria after screening. Results and discussion: The review highlights successful incorporation of several plant-derived APIs into ASDs, primarily to improve solubility and membrane permeability, with isolated compounds being the most frequently studied. The solvent evaporation method was the most used, although efforts toward more sustainable production methods were also reported. Among polymeric carriers, poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) were the most frequently employed. The most common physicochemical characterization techniques included scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Conclusion: Overall, ASDs represent a viable and effective approach to unlock the therapeutic potential of plant-derived APIs, supporting the development of more stable and bioactive herbal formulations.

The pathogenicity of Candida spp. poses a persistent challenge, particularly in hospital environments where these species proliferate and cause opportunistic infections. Many strains have developed resistance to commonly used antifungal agents, including azoles, polyenes, and echinocandins, complicating treatment, especially in immuno-compromised patients. Understanding the mechanisms underlying antifungal resistance, such as mutations in genes involved in ergosterol biosynthesis, efflux pump activity, and enzymatic pathways, is crucial for developing targeted interventions. Given the challenges associated with discovering new antifungal agents, medicinal plants have emerged as a promising source of bioactive compounds with anti-Candida activity. Secondary metabolites, including terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, and tannins, exhibit various mechanisms of action, such as biofilm inhibition, membrane disruption, and oxidative stress induction. However, challenges such as extract standardization, and the lack of clinical studies continue to limit their therapeutic application. This review underscores the potential of medicinal plants as complementary or alternative strategies to conventional antifungal therapies, emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary research to overcome these hurdles and harness the therapeutic potential of natural products.

The content of chemical constituents in Eugenia uniflora leaf extracts correlates positively with biological activities. The experimental objective was to carry out the phytochemical screening and purification of the major polyphenols from the leaves of E. uniflora. In addition, the anti-Candida activity of the hydroalcoholic extract, fraction, subfractions and polyphenols purified were evaluated. After partitioning of the extract with ethyl acetate, the fractions were chromatographed on Sephadex^® LH-20 gel followed by RP-flash chromatography and monitored by TLC and RP-HPLC. The samples were characterized by mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF-MS²) and subjected to the microdilution method in 96-well plates against strains of C. albicans, C. auris, and C. glabrata. Myricitrin (93.89%; w/w; m/z 463.0876), gallic acid (99.9%; w/w; m/z 169.0142), and ellagic acid (94.2%; w/w; m/z 300.9988) were recovered. The polyphenolic fraction (62.67% (w/w) myricitrin) and the ellagic fraction (67.86% (w/w) ellagic acid) showed the best antifungal performance (MIC between 62.50 and 500 μg/mL), suggesting an association between the majority constituents and the antifungal response of E. uniflora derivatives. However, there is a clear dependence on the presence of the complex chemical mixture. In conclusion, chromatographic strategies were effectively employed to recover the major polyphenols from the leaves of the species.