Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana Shaw) oil emulsion: an alternative to treatment of skin
lesions
Bullfrog oil; emulsion; Biotechnology; cell culture; gas chromatography; Natural
products; critical hydrophilic-lipophilic balance; Skin lesion.
The bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana Shaw) oil is used for inflammatory process and skin healing
treatments in folk medicine. The aim of this study was to extract and characterize the bullfrog
oil and to develop a suitable topical emulsion. Different oil samples were used, including the
ones extracted by heating and organic solvent. Titration techniques and gas
chromatography- mass spectrometry were used to characterize the oil. Critical hydrophiliclipophilic
balance (HLBc) was determined and the pseudo-ternary phase diagram was
constructed. The final topical emulsion stability was studied. Then, cellular viability was
performed by MTT assay using 3T3 and B16 cells lines. Extraction yield by heating process
was of 60.58%. The major polyunsaturated compounds were Eicosapentaenoic acid
(13.17%) and Arachidonic acid (8.45%). HLBc of the bullfrog oil was 12.1 and pseudoternary
phase diagram showed mainly emulsion systems. The topical emulsion remained
stable throughout the study for ninety days. Topical emulsion induced the increase and
inhibition of normal and tumour cell lines, respectively. In conclusion, the bullfrog oil
presented chemical desirable characteristics that can be used as an alternative for the
treatment of skin lesions. In addition, the emulsion promoted an improvement in their
organoleptic characteristics and also potentiated their healing effects.