An in vitro Permeation of Phyllanthus amarus Extract Through Human and Shed Snake Skins

An in vitro permeation of a hydroalcoholic extract of Phyllanthus amarus (PaE) was investigated using excised human epidermis and shed king cobra skin as the barrier membranes. Donor and receptor compartments of diffusion cells were pH-controlled to simulate the permeation environment of the human skin. The PaE was analyzed by using normal-phase densitometric TLC detected at λ 280 nm and toluene:ethyl acetate (17:3) as the mobile phase. There were four major components observed in the saturated solution of the donor at pH 5.5. Over 24 h, only one component, possibly phyllanthin, was found in the receptor solution after permeation across the human epidermis, while two components, possibly phyllanthin and an another unknown permeated, permeated through shed snake skin. When compared to the saturated donor concentration, phyllanthin gave permeation fluxes of 0.04±0.01 and 0.12±0.02 %·cm^-2.h^-1 through the human and shed snake skins, respectively. It seems that only certain component(s) of the P. amarus extract could permeate through the skins, and by comparison, at a slower rate across the human skin than shed snake skin.