Sono-assembly of ellagic acid into nanostructures significantly enhances aqueous solubility and bioavailability.

Introduction: Ellagic acid (EA), commonly found in foods, offers significant health benefits in combating chronic diseases. However, its therapeutic potential is hindered by its extremely poor solubility and bioavailability.
Method: In this study, EA nanoparticles (EA NPs) were produced using a sono-assembly method, without additional agents.
Results: EA NPs exhibited stick-like nanoparticle structures with an average size of 147.3 ± 0.73 nm. EA NPs likely adopt a tunnel-type solvate structure, with 4 water participating in disruption of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in EA and establishment of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between EAs. Importantly, EA NPs exhibited remarkable enhancements in water solubility, with 120.7-fold increase in water, and 97.8-fold increase in pH 6.8 buffer. Moreover, ex vivo intestinal permeability studies demonstrated significant improvements (P < 0.5). These findings were further supported by in vivo pharmacokinetic studies, where EA NPs significantly enhanced the relative bioavailability of EA by 4.69 times.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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