Nutraceutical formulations attract a great deal of consideration in daily schedule due to its nontoxic and traditional use. Corn silk or the stigma of Zea mays is used traditionally in weight loss stimulation, treatment of cystitis, urinary infections and obesity. Corn silk is a waste material or by-product with abundant availability from corn cultivation contains variety of nutrients and phytochemicals including proteins, vitamins, alkaloids, tannins, mineral salts and carbohydrate. Current research work had made an attempt to develop Zea mays silk based jelly as nutraceutical formulations for treatment of urinary tract infection. Jelly formulations were developed using corn silk extract. Stevia was applied as an artificial sweetener due to its non-calorific value which made product much more economic than available marketed products. Jellies were prepared by heating and congealing technique and optimized using 32 full factorial designs with concentration of gelatin and propylene glycol as independent variable. Optimization model predicted a yield of viscosity 3780±43.20 cp and percentage extract release (1 hour) at 93.15±0.29%. The quantification of phytochemicals were confirmed by LCMS study and found in the optimum range. Anti-microbial activity of extract and jelly formulation was detected against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus. The observed responses of optimized process were in close agreement with predicted values. The formulation was found to be very stable over duration of 90 days. Current study highlighted an approach in developing Zea mays silk based patient-friendly jellies for paediatric and geriatric patients with low nutritive value which can be used as nutraceutical.
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