TECHNOLOGICAL DESIGN AND MULTI-ASSAY ANTIOXIDANT EVALUATION OF A QUERCETIN–RESVERATROL–BIOTIN FORMULATION
SORINEL MARIUS NEACȘU 1, OANA KARAMPELAS 1*, ADINA MAGDALENA MUȘUC 2, EMMA ADRIANA OZON 1, ELIZA OPREA 3,4, ADRIANA RUSU 2, SIMONA PETRESCU 2, JEANINA PANDELE CUSU 2, IZABELA DANA MARIA STAN 2, VASILE-ADRIAN SURDU 5, DUMITRU LUPULIASA 1, ADRIANA MIHAELA ILIEȘIU 1,⁶
¹ Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
2 Institute of Physical Chemistry - Ilie Murgulescu, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
3 Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
4 Research Institute of the University of Bucharest—ICUB, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
5 Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, Brașov, Romania
6 Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, “Theodor Burghele” Clinical Hospital, Bucharest, Romania
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The present study presents the technological design, physicochemical characterization, and multi-assay antioxidant evaluation of a novel solid oral dosage form containing three bioactive ingredients: quercetin, resveratrol, and biotin. To overcome severe cohesiveness and poor flowability of the raw active mixture, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, and magnesium stearate were incorporated into the final capsule filling powder (Fc.c.). Micromeritic optimization yielded free-flowing powder behavior, enabling precise encapsulation with suitable mass uniformity (348.25 ± 2.31 mg) and rapid in vitro disintegration (395 ± 4 s). Complementary FTIR, XRD, TG/DTG, and SEM analyses confirmed intermolecular hydrogen bonding, reduced crystallinity, and modified thermal decomposition profiles without chemical interference from excipients. Multi-assay antioxidant evaluation demonstrated superior, sustained radical scavenging and reducing power for Fc.c. compared with 2.8 mM ascorbic acid across ABTS (64.85% at 10 min), DPPH (67.27% at 40 min), and FRAP (2972 μmol equivalent of Fe²⁺ (FeSO4) /L at 30 min) assays. The selected excipients ensured optimal particle dispersion, preserving the redox synergy of the polyphenolic combination alongside biotin. Overall, the optimized hard gelatin capsules provide a highly uniform and bioactive oral delivery system against systemic oxidative stress.
