Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Loaded in Microemulsions: Enhanced In Vitro Activity against Colon and Breast Cancer Cells and Possible Cellular Mechanisms

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) has high cytotoxicity against various cancer cells but has low water solubility and poor bioavailability. The objective of this work was to study a fully-dilutable oil-in-water microemulsion as a delivery vehicle of CAPE and the impacts on cellular uptake and expression of relevant proteins. Up to 3.30% w/w CAPE was dissolved in the microemulsion with droplets smaller than 20 nm and stable in 180 days. CAPE in...