Nanoformulated Epigallocatechin Gallate for its Potential Management of Oral Squammous Cell Carcinoma

Oral cancer is considered the most active cancer in oral cavity. Potentially malignant lesions in the oral epithelium can eventually develop into oral squamous cell carcinoma. Treating these lesions in the early stages could be an approach for early management of oral cancer. Green tea catechin, Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) has been reported to have anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor activities. In the present work, oral gels containing nanosponges of EGCG were prepared. Nanosponges were formulated using different concentrations of PVA and evaluated for percentage yield, drug content, average particle size, polydispersibility index (PDI), zetapotential, and surface morphology. The nanosponges were then incorporated into mucoadhesive HPMC gel base to ease the application onto the oral lesions. These gels were further evaluated for pH, spreadability, viscosity, drug content and in-vitro drug permeation. The potential anti-cancer activity was studied on SCC-9 cell line using MTT assay. The drug content in the nanosponges and in the gel formulation was upto 96.25% and 96.59% respectively. The particle size determined by DLS was found to be 372.7nm with zeta potential of -19.89mV indicating good stability. Surface morphology as shown in SEM revealed the porous morphology of the nanosponges. In vitro drug permeation at the end of 6 h was 98.68%. MTT assay on SCC-9 cell line showed inhibitory activity of the formulation with 60.03µM as the IC50 value. The results of the study show promising potential of oral gels containing nanosponges of EGCG for the management of carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic oral lesions.