Development and Evaluation of Nanoformulations Containing Timur Oil and Rosemary Oil for Treatment of Topical Fungal Infections

The pervasiveness of fungal infections is an issue for skin health globally, and there are a reported 40 million cases in developed and developing countries. Novel drug delivery systems provide better therapeutic efficacy over conventional drug therapy due to their lower side effects and toxicity. Furthermore, combinations of essential oils can represent alternative therapies for fungal infections that are resistant to synthetic drugs. This study is aimed at developing Timur oil into a nanoemulgel and evaluating its antifungal effects. The development of the formulation involved the preparation of a nanoemulsion by the titration method, followed by its evaluation for various physicochemical properties. The antifungal activity of the nanoemulgel against Candida albicans was evaluated. The zone of inhibition was determined using the disk diffusion method. The results show that the developed nanoemulgel has a particle size of 139 ± 6.11 nm, a PDI of 0.309, and a zeta potential of −19.12 ± 2.73 mV. An in vitro drug release study showed a sustained release of 70 ± 0.289% of the drug over a period of 24 h. The % drug permeation across the skin was found to be 79.11 ± 0.319% over 24 h. However, the amount of drug retained in the skin was 56.45 µg/g. The flux for the nanoemulgel was found to be 94.947 µg/cm2/h, indicating a better permeability profile. The nanoemulgel formulation showed a zone of inhibition of 15 ± 2.45 mm, whereas the 1% ketoconazole cream (marketed preparation) exhibited a zone of inhibition of 13 ± 2.13 mm. The results of this study suggest that developed nanoemulgel containing Timur oil and rosemary oil has the potential to be used for treating topical fungal infections caused by Candida albicans.