Pectin–curcumin composite: synthesis, molecular modeling and cytotoxicity

Preparation and physicochemical properties characterization of hesperetin-grafted pectin conjugate

Different ratios of hesperetin (HT) were successfully grafted onto pectin from basic water (PB) molecules via free radical-induced reaction. The structure of PB-HT conjugates was characterized by ultraviolet spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Results indicated that HT was successfully grafted onto pectin molecules, and PB-HT-0.5 showed the highest HT content (103.18 ± 2.76 mg/g). Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that HT crystals showed good thermal resistance and could improve the thermal stability of PB-HT conjugates. Additionally, PB-HT conjugates showed good cytocompatibility and blood compatibility. This study provides a novel and efficient method to synthesize hesperetin-grafted pectin conjugate, which showed potential application in the fields of functional foods in the future.

Polysaccharide-Drug Conjugates: A Tool for Enhanced Cancer Therapy

Cancer is one of the most widespread deadly diseases, following cardiovascular disease, worldwide. Chemotherapy is widely used in combination with surgery, hormone and radiation therapy to treat various cancers. However, chemotherapeutic drugs can cause severe side effects due to non-specific targeting, poor bioavailability, low therapeutic indices, and high dose requirements. Several drug carriers successfully overcome these issues and deliver drugs to the desired sites, reducing the side effects. Among various drug delivery systems, polysaccharide-based carriers that target only the cancer cells have been developed to overcome the toxicity of chemotherapeutics. Polysaccharides are non-toxic, biodegradable, hydrophilic biopolymers that can be easily modified chemically to improve the bioavailability and stability for delivering therapeutics into cancer tissues. Different polysaccharides, such as chitosan, alginates, cyclodextrin, pullulan, hyaluronic acid, dextran, guar gum, pectin, and cellulose, have been used in anti-cancer drug delivery systems. This review highlights the recent progress made in polysaccharides-based drug carriers in anti-cancer therapy.

Pectin in biomedical and drug delivery applications: A review

Natural macromolecules have attracted increasing attention due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, and biodegradability. Pectin is one of the few polysaccharides with biomedical activity, consequently a candidate in biomedical and drug delivery Applications. Rhamnogalacturonan-II, a smaller component in pectin, plays a major role in biomedical activities. The ubiquitous presence of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups in pectin contribute to their hydrophilicity and, hence, to the favorable biocompatibility, low toxicity, and biodegradability. However, pure pectin-based materials present undesirable swelling and corrosion properties. The hydrophilic groups, via coordination, electrophilic addition, esterification, transesterification reactions, can contribute to pectin's physicochemical properties. Here the properties, extraction, and modification of pectin, which are fundamental to biomedical and drug delivery applications, are reviewed. Moreover, the synthesis, properties, and performance of pectin-based hybrid materials, composite materials, and emulsions are elaborated. The comprehensive review presented here can provide valuable information on pectin and its biomedical and drug delivery applications.

Improved antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity of naringenin on conjugation with pectin

The purpose of the present study was to improve the aqueous solubility of naringenin by conjugating with water-soluble polysaccharide carrier, pectin. The pectin-naringenin conjugate was synthesized employing dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and dimethylaminopyridine. The conjugation was confirmed by various physicochemical characterizations. The results of differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and morphological analyses revealed semi-crystalline nature of the conjugate. The chromatographic analysis showed 37.069 µg naringenin/mg of conjugate. The conjugate was determined to have molecular weight of 6.22 × 10⁴ kDa by static light scattering. In silico molecular mechanistic simulations performed for pectin and naringenin revealed the energetic and geometrical stability within the polysaccharide-polyphenol conjugate. The critical aggregation concentration was in the range of 44.67-56.23 μg/mL as determined by dynamic light scattering and fluorescence spectroscopy. On in vitro release, 99.4% (pH 1.2) and 57.62% (pH 7.4) of naringenin were found to be released over a period of 30 h and 48 h, respectively. Further, the release of naringenin followed Higuchi's square-root kinetics with diffusion as the possible release mechanism. A comparative evaluation for antioxidant activity revealed a significantly higher radical scavenging activity of conjugate over the naringenin. Further, the conjugate exhibited significantly higher antimicrobial action against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa while a comparable antimicrobial activity was observed against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. The cytotoxicity studies of the synthesized conjugate showed anti-cancer activity against NIH: OVCAR-5 cells. In conclusion, the pectin-naringenin conjugate presented hydrocolloidal properties with improved therapeutic efficacy and delivery over the native polyphenol.