Dissolution kinetics of polyphenol bearing calcium pectate hydrogels in simulated gastric or intestinal media and their anti-carcinogenic capacities

pH-Sensitive ε-polylysine/polyaspartic acid/zein nanofiber membranes for the targeted release of polyphenols

In this work, zein nanofiber membranes loaded with ε-polylysine-polyphenol-polyaspartic acid were prepared using electrospinning for the controlled delivery of polyphenols. The loading efficiency (LE) and loading capacity (LC) of polyphenols in ε-polylysine/polyaspartic acid hydrogels were determined. Characterization of the films was carried out using water contact angle (WCA) measurement, thermal analysis (DSC/TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The study showed that the embedding rates of all samples reached more than 80%. The structural characterization results showed that the nanofiber membranes loaded with hydrophobic polyphenols were more stable and no new compounds formed during electrostatic spinning. The in vitro release study of phlorotannin, kaempferol and tannic acid indicated that about 62.35%, 63.51% and 73.65% of polyphenol release occurred at pH 6.8 for 8 h. The result of cytotoxicity assay in human colon cancer cells (HT-29) showed good biocompatibility of the zein nanofiber membranes. The investigation suggested that polyphenols can be successfully entrapped in the ε-polylysine-polyaspartic acid-zein nanofiber membranes for targeted delivery.

Calcium pectinate and hyaluronic acid modified lactoferrin nanoparticles loaded rhein with dual-targeting for ulcerative colitis treatment

Herein, dual-bioresponsive of Rhein (RH) in promoting colonic mucous damage repair and controlling inflammatory reactions were combined by the dual-targeting (intestinal epithelial cells and macrophages) oral nano delivery strategy for effective therapy of ulcerative colitis (UC). Briefly, two carbohydrates, calcium pectinate (CP) and hyaluronic acid (HA) were used to modify lactoferrin (LF) nanoparticles (NPs) to encapsulate RH (CP/HA/RH-NPs). CP layer make CP/HA/RH-NPs more stable and protect against the destructive effects of the gastrointestinal environment and then release HA/RH-NPs to colon lesion site. Cellular uptake evaluation confirmed that NPs could specifically target and enhance the uptake rate via LF and HA ligands. in vivo experiments revealed that CP/HA/RH-NPs significantly alleviated inflammation by inhibiting the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and accelerated colonic healing. Importantly, with the help of CP, this study was the first to attempt for LF as a targeting nanomaterial in UC treatment and offers a promising food-based nanodrug in anti-UC.