| abstract |
Several diterpene glycosides (e.g., rubusoside, rebaudioside, steviol monoside and stevioside) were discovered to enhance the solubility of a number of pharmaceutically and medicinally important compounds, including but not limited to, paclitaxel, camptothecin, curcumin, tanshinone HA, capsaicin, cyclosporine, erythromycin, nystatin, itraconazole, and celecoxib. The use of the diterpene glycoside rubusoside increased solubility in all tested compounds. The diterpene glycosides are a naturally occurring class of water solubility- enhancing compounds that are non-toxic and that will be useful as new complexing agents or excipients in the pharmaceutical, agricultural (e.g., solubilizing pesticides), cosmetic and food industries. Aqueous solutions by using rubusoside to increase the solubility of otherwise insoluble drugs will have several new routes of administration. In addition, aqueous solutions of therapeutic compounds with rubusoside were shown to retain the known pharmacological activity of the compounds. |