Microencapsulation of dried euphorbia hirta l. extract for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases

Abstract

The present invention is on development of process technology for drying, extraction and microencapsulation of asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta) extract which can be used for treating asthma and other respiratory problems in human beings. It particularly relates to the development of process technology for drying, supercritical fluid extraction and microencapsulation of asthma plant extract. It also relates to the process for preparation of medicine or composition for Asthma andother respiratory diseases. Many plants available in India are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of asthma. Euphorbia hirta (Asthma plant) is one such plant which contains several bio active compounds used for treating many diseases. The method and the temperature used for drying, the pressure and temperature used in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction and the temperature and concentration of maltodextrin in microencapsulation of the herb extracts were standardized.

Description

COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONMICROENCAPSULATION OF DRIED EUPHORBIA HIRTA L. EXTRACT FOR TREATMENT OF ASTHMA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY DISEASESDr. PARAMAYYA MATHADandDr. UDAYKUMAR NIDONIDEPARTMENT OF PROCESSING AND FOOD ENGINEERINGCOLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, RAICHUR-584104, KARNATAKA, INDIA.The following specification describes the invention and the manner in which it is performed. FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is on development of process technology for drying, extraction and microencapsulation of asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta L.) extract which can be used for treating asthma and other respiratory problems in human beings. It particularly relates to the development of process technology for drying, supercritical fluid extraction and microencapsulation of asthma plant extract. It also relates to the process for preparation of medicine or composition for Asthma andother respiratory diseases.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAsthma is a common, chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that affects people of all ages including infants. It is a condition in which bronchial tubes becomes swollen and clogged resulting inintermittent symptoms of cough, dyspnea, wheezing and chest pain. According to WHO nearly 235 million people around the globe are suffering from asthma disease and India contributes 10 per cent of the global burden with around 20 million people are asthmatic [Kumar, P. and Usha R,A., 2017, Patterns, factors associated and morbidity burden of asthma in India, Plos. One., 12(10): 185-938]. The present day medicinal management of asthma includes various techniques but lack satisfactory success due to adverse side effects, hence patients are seeking complementary and alternative medicine to treat the asthma disease [Shelke, P., Derle, D., Derle1, N. and Vyawahare, J., 2014, Preclinical evaluation and antiasthmatic activity of Euphorbia hirta Linn., Int. J. Pure App. Biosci. 2(2): 262-266]. Herbal medicines are the promising choice over the modern synthetic drugs as they show minimum or no side effects. Many medicinal plants are being used in traditional medicine for the treatment of asthma [Omolola, T. F., Wojuola, T. E., Esievo, K. B. and Kunle, O. F., 2016, Medicinal plants used in the management of asthma: a review. European J. Pharm. and Med. Res., 3 (7): 82- 92].Plant derived medicines have been part of the traditional health care in most of the world for thousands of years and getting importance in recent days due to its promising results, less or no side effects and lower cost unlike synthetic drugs [Negi, K. S., Ojha, S. N. and Samant, S. S., 2010, Cultivation, propagation and biotechnology of medicinal plants. National Seminar on Medicinal Plants of Himalaya, PP 73-88]. In the present scenario the demand for herbal products is growing exponentially throughout the world. According to WHO, the average size of the global herbal market is 62 billion US dollars and it is expected that the global market for herbal product will be raised up to 5 trillion US dollar by 2050 [Deshpande, S. M., 2015, Study of current market scenario and marketing prospects against changing attitude of consumers towards buying of ayurvedic medicines in India. Int. J. Business Management Invention, 4 (6): 48-54].Medicinal plants used for the treatment of asthma should have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antihistaminic, smooth-muscle relaxants and anti-allergic activity [Nurhadi, B., Andoyo, R., Mahani and Rindiarto, R., 2012, Study the properties of honey powder produced from spray drying and vacuum drying method. Int. Food Res. J., 19(3): 907-912]. According to Ayurveda, anti-asthmatic drug should have properties such as anti-kapha and antivata. Among the medicinal plants, Euphorbia hirta commonly known as asthma plant is recommended for various therapeutic indications in traditional medicine like hypotensive tonic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and sedative activity [Khan, S., Ahmed, B., Khalilullah, H. and Masoodi, M. H., 2014, Neuropharmacological activity of Euphorbia hirta and its isolated compound. J. Pharma. Phytochemistry, 3(2): 138-146]. Euphorbia hirta L. belongs to the plant family Euphorbiaceae and genus Euphorbia. The plant is distributed throughout the hotter parts of India, Bangaladesh and Australia. The plant of this genus contain many phyto-chemicals (bio active compounds) viz., terpenes (diterpenes, triterpenes and sesquiterpenes), phenolic derivatives (flvonoides, coumarians, acetophenoneslignans etc.) tannins and some alkaloids. The photochemicals are the non nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventing properties [Asha, S., Thirunavukkarasu, P., Sadiq, M., 2015, Phytochemical screening of Euphorbia hirta L. leaf extracts. World J. Pharm. Sci., 3(6): 1104-1112]. Recently, the researchers reported that, the plant extract exhibited various important pharmacological activities such as anticancer, anti-tumour, diuretic activity, anti-malaria, anti-fertility activity, neuropharmacological activity, antioxidant, antivirus activity, anti-platelet aggregation, anti-inflammatory [Patil, S. B., Nilofar., Naikwade, S. and Chandrakant, S., 2009, Review on phytochemistry and pharmacological aspects of Euphorbia hirta linn. Indian J. Pharmacology., 1(1): 113-133; and Sharma, N., Samarakoon, K. W., Gyawali, R., Park, Y., Lee, S. J., Oh, S. J., Lee, T. H. and Jeong, D. K., 2014,Evaluation of the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of Euphorbia hirta L. Ethanolic Extract Molecules, 19: 14567-14581]. Drying is a technique which reduces the moisture content, provides aeration, checks the microbial intervention, minimizes the cost of transportation and also important process of dried material preparation for further processing. Medicinal plants can be dried in a number of ways viz., in the open air (shaded from direct sunlight) placed in thin layers on drying frames, low temperature air drying, freeze drying, vacuum drying, infrared drying, microwave drying etc. The method and temperature used for drying may have a considerable impact on the quality of the resulting plant materials as well as significant influence on quality and stability of bioactive compounds [Pham, H. N. T., Nguyen, V. T., Vuong, Q. V., Bowyer, M. C., and Christopher., 2015, Effect of Extraction solvents and drying methods on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of helicteres hirsuta lour. leaves. J. Scarlett., 3: 285-301]. Traditionally the asthma plant parts are dried under shade in thin layer in an open yard which takes 3-4 days for complete drying. Drying without auxiliary energy either in the field or in sheds, should only be considered for drying of small quantities. Hence it is required to recommend optimum drying conditions / methods for Euphorbia hirta to get high quality dried plant material for further processing.The extraction of bioactive compounds from asthma plant is being carried out using traditional extraction methods viz., maceration, soxhlet extraction, hydro distillation etc. These methods have their own disadvantages like, the use of large volumes of hazardous and flammable liquid organic solvents, residual solvent in the extract and degradation of heat labile active components, long extraction time, high cost and labour intensive operation involved in using such techniques [Nicoue, E. E., Savard, S. and Belkacemi, K., 2007, Anthocyanins in wild blueberries of Quebec: extraction and identification. J. Agric. Food Chem., 55(14): 5626-5635]. These problems need to be addressed by employing advanced, efficient and green technologies. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2 ) extraction is one of the cutting edge technologies for separating one component (Extractant) from another (Matrix) using supercritical fluid as an extracting solvent. Extraction is usually from a solid matrix, but can also be from liquids. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most commonly used supercritical fluid, sometimes modified by co-solvents such as ethanol or methanol. Extraction conditions for supercritical CO2 are above the critical temperature of 31.04 ºC and critical pressure of 73.8 bar; the addition of modifiers may slightly alter such condition. CO2 is non-toxic, non flammable and is available in high purity at low cost. In order to extract polar components; co-solvent (e.g., ethanol, methanol) is frequently used to raise the solvent power of supercritical CO2 [Wang, L. and Weller, C. L., 2006, Recent advances in extraction of nutraceuticals from plants. Trends Food. Sci. Technol., 17(4): 300-312].Most of the bioactive compounds are very sensitive to light, oxygen, moisture and temperature. The effectiveness of natural antioxidants such as polyphenols and flavonoids are depending on preserving of their stability. One of the potential methods of preserving herbs properties is via encapsulation method. Moreover, the herbal extracts posses an unpleasant flavour, astringent taste and abnormal colour characteristics. Microencapsulation of the herb extracts appears to be an alternative for masking flavour, colour and astringency of the extract [Lampronti Ilaria, Mahmud T. Khan H.,2 Monica Borgatti,1 Nicoletta Bianchi,1 and Roberto Gambari. 2008, Inhibitory Effects of Bangladeshi Medicinal Plant Extracts on Interactions between Transcription Factors and Target DNA Sequences. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Volume 5, Issue 3, Pages 303-312].The encapsulation process preserves the physical stability during processing, storage and prevent from deleterious interaction with food matrix and the environment. Encapsulation facilitates light and heat labile molecules to maintain their stability and improve their shelf life and activity. Microencapsulation of bioactive molecules has been efficiently used in increasing of bioavailability of the drugs and nutrients [Singh, U., Sagar, V. R., Behera, T. K. and Kumar, P. S., 2006, Effect of drying conditions on the quality of dehydrated selected vegetables. J. Food Sci. Technol., 43(6): 579-582]. Moreover, the powder based product is desirable for convenience of consumption, besides having a longer shelf-life and ease of handling [Nyamien, Y., Adje, F., Niamke, F., Koffi, E., Chatigre, O., Adima, A. and Biego, H. G., 2015, Effect of solvents and solid-liquid ratio on caffeine extraction from cote divoire kola nuts (Cola nitida). Int. J. Sci. Res., 4(1): 218-222]. It is a rapidly expanding technology, highly specialized with affordable cost.O.E. Ekpo and E. Preto 2007 [O.E. Ekpo and E. Preto, South African Journal of Science 103, May / June 2007] reported the Euphorbia hirta is a plant used in traditional medicine for a variety of diseases, such as cough, asthma, colic dysentery and genito-urinary infection. This plant, belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, is also known as the Australian asthma herb or Queensland asthma weed, and is not toxic when taken in typical dosages. In South Africa, it is commonly used for asthma, which is one of the most common respiratory complaints. Although corticosteroids are considered the best means of defence against this debilitating illness, many people, especially in poor countries, rely on herbal remedies for its treatment. We discuss recently published results to assess the effect of the plant using the BALB / c murine asthma model. We also review the different compounds found in plant extracts, in an attempt to understand the reason for its anti-inflammatory properties. We conclude that the flavonoids, quercitrin (converted to quercetin in the alimentary canal) and myricitrin, as well as the sterols 24-methylene-cycloartenol and -sitosterol, exert noteworthy and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity. The triterpene ß-amyrin also seems to exert a similar anti-inflammatory activity. Tannins and tannic acid derivatives, also present in the plant, have antiseptic effects and the two triterpenoids, taraxerone (EH-1) and 11a, 12a-oxidotaraxerol (EH-2), in E. hirta demonstrate antibacterial and antifungal properties. The effectiveness of E. hirta in treating asthma may lie predominantly in the synergistic relationships between the flavonoids, sterols and triterpenoids.The patent application publication no.CN105360792A discloses Euphorbia hirta capsule and a preparation method thereof. The Euphorbia hirta capsule is prepared from 39% to 41% of euphorbia hirta, 19% to 21% of radix ophiopogonis, 19% to 21% of madder and 19% to 21% of dendrobe. The traditional Chinese medicine ingredients are smashed, extracted and mixed to prepare the traditional Chinese medicine capsule, and the traditional Chinese medicine capsule is prepared through smashing, extracting, mixing, capsuling, sterilizing and packaging. Yin and fluid deficiency can be effectively treated, yin nourishing and fluid promoting can be achieved, rich polysaccharide substances are included, immunity can be improved, aging and oxidizing can be resisted, the function of moistening and nourishing the skin is achieved, and the good restraining function on pathogenic bacterium helicobacter pylori common in spleen and stomach diseases is achieved. Atrophic gastritis, superficial gastritis, duodenal ulcer and other diseases with positive helicobacter pylori can be treated, and the euphorbia hirta capsule is beneficial to patients suffering from damp and heat dysentery, dysentery, goiter and tumor scrofula diseases and the like.Looking at the pharmacological characteristics of Euphorbia hirta and its wide application in pharmaceutical industry, it is required to produce quality products through optimized unit operations namely, drying, super critical fluid extraction and microencapsulation for maximum retention of active ingredients. There are no reports in the literature on optimal drying conditions, SCF extraction and microencapsulation of bio active compounds from Euphorbia hirta. It is important to look very broadly the loss of bioactive compounds that occur in each stage and thus the optimizations of the process parameters arenecessary to get those bioactive compounds in the extract. Therefore, the present inventors have developed the process for drying, extraction and microencapsulation of Euphorbia hirta for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseasesand the developed process is not having the drawbacks or limitations of the prior art or existing technologies for performing the extraction of the Euphorbia hirta for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases.OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIONThe primary objective of the invention is the development of process technology for drying, extraction and microencapsulation of asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta).The other object of the invention is standardization of drying method and temperature of drying for retaining maximum bioactive compounds in the dried product.The other object of the invention is standardizing the pressure and temperature used in the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction for maximum recovery of bioactive compounds from asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta).The other object of the invention is standardizing the inlet air temperature and concentration of maltodextrin for microencapsulation of bioactive compounds from Euphorbia hirta extract in spray drying process. The other object of the invention is the development of suitable process for microencapsulation of the dried extract of Euphorbia hirta for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseaseswhich is cost-effective and affordable.The other object of the invention is the development of suitable process for microencapsulation of the dried extract of Euphorbia hirta for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases which is safe and practical to use with little technical expertise.The other object of the invention is the development of microencapsulated dried extract of Euphorbia hirtaas medicament (composition) for efficient treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases.The other object of the invention is the development of microencapsulated dried extract of Euphorbia hirta as medicament (composition) for efficient treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases which is not having any side effects.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta L.) dried under dehumidified air drying took less time (10.50 h) as compared to and shade drying (17 h). The functional properties viz., total phenolic content (66.60 mg GAE.g-1), antioxidant activity (64.15 %), total flavonoids (35.78 mg QE.g-1), alkaloids (4.67 mg / g) and tannin content (6.55 mg TAE / g) retained well in dehumidified air drying. The optimized drying method for Euphorbia hirta powder was found to be dehumidified air dryer.The maximum extraction yield (10.50 g / 100 g) and extraction efficiency of (93.75 %) obtained in 225 bar pressure and 50oC. The highest total phenolic content (58.37 mg GAE. g-1), antioxidant activity (64.46 %), total flavonoids (31.83 mg QE.g-1) alkaloids content (4.56 ) and total tannins content 6.32 (mg TAE / g) were found highest in 225 bar pressure and 50 oC.The optimized condition for super critical fluid extraction was found to be 225 bar pressure and 50 oC.The highest powder yield (91.36 %) of microencapsulated Euphorbia hirta plant extract obtained using maltodextrin concentration of 3:1 and temperature at 170 ºC inlet air temperature. The best handling i.e., flowability and reconstitution properties (Carr’s index, 19.51, Hausner ratio (1.24), solubility (93.49 %), wettability (283.88 s) and dispersability (83.54 %) of the microencapsulated Euphorbia hirta powder can be obtained using maltodextrin concentration of 1:1 material and at 160 ºC inlet air temperature.The functional properties viz., total phenolic content (50. mg GAE.g-1), antioxidant activity (48.52%), total flavonoids (19.64 mg QE.g-1) and alkaloids content of (3.59mg / g) retained more in microencapsulated Euphorbia hirta powder obtained using maltodextrin concentration of 1:1 and at 160 ºC inlet air temperature. The optimized concentration of maltodextrin is 1:1 and inlet air temperature of 160 ºC for microencapsulation of Euphorbia hirta plant extract.The benefit cost ratio of the microencapsulated E. hirta powder was found to be 3.23STATEMENT OF THE INVENTIONA process for preparation of microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases comprising:a. collecting the aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta;b. drying of the collected aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta for retaining maximum bioactive compounds in the dried parts;c. milling the dried aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta;d. subjecting the milled aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta to sieving to obtain the smaller particle size powdered form;e. the powdered form obtained in step (d) is subjected to supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction for maximum recovery of bioactive compounds; andf. then subjecting the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extract to microencapsulation to get the microencapsulated dried extract for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases.The drying is carried by any of the method selected from solar tunnel drying, tray drying (hot air drying) at 45±1 °C or dehumidified air drying at 45±1 °C and 15±1% RH. The milling of the dried aerial parts is carried by using water cooled pulveriser.The supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction is carried with supercritical fluid pressure selected from 125, 175 or 225 bar at temperature selected from 40, 50 or 60 °C at constant dynamic extraction time of 90 min. The microencapsulation is carried by mixing the dried extract of Euphorbia hirta and maltodextrin in the ratio selected from 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3.The microencapsulation is carried with maltodextrin preferably in the ratio of 1:1.Microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases comprising supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extract of the Euphorbia hirta and maltodextrin. The ratio of the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extract of the Euphorbia hirta to maltodextrin is in the ratio selected from 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3.The ratio of the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extract of the Euphorbia hirta to maltodextrin preferably is 1:1.Pharmaceutical composition for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases comprising the microencapsulated dried extract of the Euphorbia hirta and pharmaceutically suitable excipient (s) or carrier (s).BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES / DRAWINGSFig. 1. Process flow chart for drying and milling of Euphorbia hirta plantFig. 2.Process flow chart for microencapsulation of Euphorbia hirta extractFig. 3.GCMS chromatogram for super critical fluid extract (225 bar, 50 ºC)Fig. 4. GCMS analysis of micro encapsulated powder from Euphorbia hirta extractDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to the development of process technology for production of microencapsulated asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta) extract powder used for treating asthma and other respiratory diseases in human beings. The developed process technology involves the standardization of drying method and drying temperature for maximum retention of bioactive compounds. The fresh aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta viz., stem, leaves, flowers and seeds were used for drying experiments. The drying studies were conducted using three different drying methods i.e., solar tunnel drying, tray drying (hot air drying) at 45±1 °C , dehumidified air drying at 45±1 °C and 15±1% RH and compared with shade drying (conventional drying). The dried plant material was milled using water cooled pulveriser. The powder obtained after milling was passed through 250 micron sieve to get lesser particle size. Finally the asthma plant powder was packaged in PET packaging material and stored at 4 ºC until further processing.Euphorbia hirta dried under dehumidified air drying took less time (10.50 h) as compared to shade drying (17 h). The functional properties viz., total phenolic content (66.60 mg GAE.g-1), antioxidant activity (64.15 %), total flavonoids (35.78 mg QE.g-1), alkaloids (4.67 mg / g) and tannin content (6.55 mg TAE / g) retained well in dehumidified air drying.The optimized drying method for Euphorbia hirta powder was found to be dehumidified air dryer.The invention also involve the standardisation of pressure and temperature used in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2 ) extraction for maximum recovery of bioactive compounds from asthma plant (Euphorbia hirta).The basic principleof supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is that when the feed material comes in contact with a supercritical fluid, the volatile substances will get separated into the supercritical phase. After the dissolution of soluble material, the supercritical fluid containing the dissolved substances is removed from the feed material. The extracted component is then completely separated from the supercritical fluid by means of a pressure change.The independent variables selected for the study were supercritical fluid pressure (125, 175 and 225 bar), temperature (40, 50 and 60 °C) at constant dynamic extraction time of 90 min. The maximum extraction yield (10.50 g / 100) and extraction efficiency of (93.75 %) obtained in 225 bar pressure and 50oC. The highest total phenolic content (58.37 mg GAE.g-1), antioxidant activity (64.46 %), total flavonoids (31.83 mg QE.g-1) alkaloids content (4.56 ) and total tannins content 6.32 (mg TAE / g) were found highest in 225 bar pressure and 50 oC.Optimization of the two process variables namely; temperature and pressure was performed using the general factorial method in Design Expert. The quadratic model was obtained for extraction yield and extraction efficiency. The predicted equations were developed for each response of extract. Numerical optimization was applied to determine the optimal process parameters of SC-CO2 extraction of Euphorbia hirta. The optimized condition obtained was 50 °C temperature and 225 bar pressure. The invention also involves the standardization of temperature and concentration of maltodextrin for microencapsulation of bioactive compounds from Euphorbia hirta extract in spray drying process.The optimized treatment for SC-CO2 extraction was considered for the encapsulation process. The carrier material maltodextrin (analytical grade) was selected for the study. The extract and the carrier materials were mixed in the ratio of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3. Process flow chart for microencapsulation of bioactive compounds from Euphorbia hirta is given Fig. 1. The best handling i.e., flowability and reconstitution properties (Carr’s index, 19.51, Hausner ratio (1.24), solubility (93.49 %), wettability (283.88 s) and dispersability (83.54 %) of the microencapsulated Euphorbia hirta powder can be obtained using maltodextrin concentration of 1:1 material and at 160 ºC inlet air temperature. The functional properties viz., total phenolic content (50. mg GAE.g-1), antioxidant activity (48.52%), total flavonoids (19.64 mg QE.g-1) and alkaloids content of (3.59mg / g) retained more in microencapsulated Euphorbia hirta powder obtained using maltodextrin concentration of 1:1 and at 160 ºC inlet air temperatureThe optimized concentration of maltodextrin is 1:1 and inlet air temperature of 160 ºC for microencapsulation of Euphorbia hirta plant extractWORKING EXAMPLE:The fresh Euphorbia hirta plants were collected and washed thoroughly with tap water to remove the dust and soil particles. The roots of the plant were separated manually by cutting and only the aerial parts of plant. The plants were dried in dehumidified air dryer at 45±1 °C and 15±1% RH. The dried plant material was milled using water cooled pulveriser. The powder obtained after milling was passed through 250 micron sieve to get lesser particle size for further extraction process.The supercritical carbon dioxide extraction system was used for extraction of bioactive compounds from E.hirta. The extraction pressure of 225 bar and extraction temperature of 50oC were used at constant dynamic extraction time of 90 min. The flow rate of CO2 (2 g / min) and co-solvent was maintained at 20 g / min. The SCF extract was stored under refrigerated condition for further analysis. Phytochemical screening of SCF extract of E. hirta was carried out according to the procedure described by (Qaisar et al., 2012). The presence of these phytochemical was identified through the observation of appearance or colour changes of certain solutions after mixing with E. hirta extract. The phytochemicals present in the SCF extract of E. hirta were also analysed using GCMS standard procedure.Spray drying is one of the most commonly employed techniques for drying and encapsulation of herbal extracts. Spray drying is employed to preserve the stability, bioactivity and bioavailability of active components. The optimized treatment for SC-CO2 extraction (225 bar and extraction temperature of 50oC) was used for the encapsulation process. The microencapsulation was carried out using spray dryer. Maltodextrin was used as carrier material in the proportion 1:1 and in let air of temperature of 160oC. The encapsulated powder was filled in the gelatin capsules of 180 mg.

Claims

Claims:We Claim,1. A process for preparation of microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases comprising:a. collecting the aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta;b. drying of the collected aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta for retaining maximum bioactive compounds in the dried parts;c. milling the dried aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta;d. subjecting the milled aerial parts of the Euphorbia hirta to sieving to obtain the smaller particle size powdered form;e. the powdered form obtained in step (d) is subjected to supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction for maximum recovery of bioactive compounds; andf. then subjecting the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extract to microencapsulation to get the microencapsulated dried extract for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases.

2. The process for preparation of microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases as claimed in claim 1 wherein drying is carried by any of the method selected from solar tunnel drying, tray drying (hot air drying) at 45±1 °C or dehumidified air drying at 45±1 °C and 15±1% RH.

3. The process for preparation of microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases as claimed in claim 1 wherein the milling of the dried aerial parts is carried by using water cooled pulveriser.

4. The process for preparation of microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases as claimed in claim 1 wherein the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extractionis carried with supercritical fluid pressure selected from 125, 175 or 225 barat temperature selected from 40, 50 or 60 °Cat constant dynamic extraction time of 90 min.

5. The process for preparation of microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases as claimed in claim 1 whereinthe microencapsulation is carried by mixing the dried extract of Euphorbia hirta and maltodextrin in the ratio selected from 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3.

6. The process for preparation of microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases as claimed in claim 5 wherein the microencapsulation is carried with maltodextrin preferably in the ratio of 1:1.

7. Microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases comprising supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extract of the Euphorbia hirta and maltodextrin.

8. Microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases as claimed in claim 7 wherein the ratio of the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extract of the Euphorbia hirta to maltodextrin is in the ratio selected from 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3.

9. Microencapsulated dried extract of the plant for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases as claimed in claim 7 wherein the ratio of the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extract of the Euphorbia hirta to maltodextrin preferably is 1:1.

10. Pharmaceutical composition for treatment of asthma and other respiratory diseases comprising the microencapsulated dried extract of the Euphorbia hirta of claim 8 and pharmaceutically suitable excipient (s) or carrier (s). Dated 05th January, 2020 SIGNATURE SHARANABASAVA,Patent Agent (IN / PA-1375) for applicants , Description:FORM-2THE PATENTS ACT, 1970&THE PATENTS RULES, 2003