Preparation and characterisation of nanoliposomes containing winged bean seeds bioactive peptides

Exploring the impact of encapsulation on the stability and bioactivity of peptides extracted from botanical sources: trends and opportunities

Bioactive peptides derived from plant sources have gained significant attention for their potential use in preventing and treating chronic degenerative diseases. However, the efficacy of these peptides depends on their bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and stability. Encapsulation is a promising strategy for improving the therapeutic use of these compounds. It enhances their stability, prolongs their shelf life, protects them from degradation during digestion, and enables better release control by improving their bioaccessibility and bioavailability. This review aims to analyze the impact of various factors related to peptide encapsulation on their stability and release to enhance their biological activity. To achieve this, it is necessary to determine the composition and physicochemical properties of the capsule, which are influenced by the wall materials, encapsulation technique, and operating conditions. Furthermore, for peptide encapsulation, their charge, size, and hydrophobicity must be considered. Recent research has focused on the advancement of novel encapsulation methodologies that permit the formation of uniform capsules in terms of size and shape. In addition, it explores novel wall materials, including polysaccharides derived from unconventional sources, that allow the precise regulation of the rate at which peptides are released into the intestine.

Alternative Protein Sources and Novel Foods: Benefits, Food Applications and Safety Issues

The increasing size of the human population and the shortage of highly valuable proteinaceous ingredients has prompted the international community to scout for new, sustainable, and natural protein resources from invertebrates (e.g., insects) and underutilized legume crops, unexploited terrestrial and aquatic weeds, and fungi. Insect proteins are known for their nutritional value, being rich in proteins with a good balance of essential amino acids and being a valuable source of essential fatty acids and trace elements. Unconventional legume crops were found rich in nutritional, phytochemical, and therapeutic properties, showing excellent abilities to survive extreme environmental conditions. This review evaluates the recent state of underutilized legume crops, aquatic weeds, fungi, and insects intended as alternative protein sources, from ingredient production to their incorporation in food products, including their food formulations and the functional characteristics of alternative plant-based proteins and edible insect proteins as novel foods. Emphasis is also placed on safety issues due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors and allergenic proteins in insects and/or underutilized legumes. The functional and biological activities of protein hydrolysates from different protein sources are reviewed, along with bioactive peptides displaying antihypertensive, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and/or antimicrobial activity. Due to the healthy properties of these foods for the high abundance of bioactive peptides and phytochemicals, more consumers are expected to turn to vegetarianism or veganism in the future, and the increasing demand for such products will be a challenge for the future.

Preparation, characterization, and in-vitro cytotoxicity of nanoliposomes loaded with anti-tubercular drugs and TGF-β1 siRNA for improving spinal tuberculosis therapy

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) represents a bacterial infection affecting many individuals each year and potentially leading to death. Overexpression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 has a primary immunomodulatory function in human tuberculosis. This work aimed to develop nanoliposomes to facilitate the delivery of anti-tubercular products to THP-1-derived human macrophages as Mycobacterium host cells and to evaluate drug efficiencies as well as the effects of a TGF-β1-specific short interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery system employing nanoliposomes.

Methods

In the current study, siTGF-β1 nanoliposomes loaded with the anti-TB drugs HRZ (isoniazid, rifampicin, and pyrazinamide) were prepared and characterized in vitro, determining the size, zeta potential, morphology, drug encapsulation efficiency (EE), cytotoxicity, and gene silencing efficiency of TGF-β1 siRNA.

Results

HRZ/siTGF-β1 nanoliposomes appeared as smooth spheres showing the size and positive zeta potential of 168.135 ± 0.5444 nm and + 4.03 ± 1.32 mV, respectively. Drug EEs were 90%, 88%, and 37% for INH, RIF, and PZA, respectively. Meanwhile, the nanoliposomes were weakly cytotoxic towards human macrophages as assessed by the MTT assay. Nanoliposomal siTGF-β1 could significantly downregulate TGF-β1 in THP-1-derived human macrophages in vitro.

Conclusion

These findings suggested that HRZ-loaded nanoliposomes with siTGF-β1 have the potential for improving spinal tuberculosis chemotherapy via nano-encapsulation of anti-TB drugs.

Fully Natural Lecithin Encapsulated Nano-Resveratrol for Anti-Cancer Therapy

Introduction

Chemotherapeutics are known to have undesirable side effects (i.e. nausea, weight loss, hair loss, weakened immune system, etc.) due to the non-specificity of the drugs. Encapsulation of these chemotherapeutics inside nanoparticles significantly improves the bioavailability and half-life of drugs, while increasing their tumor penetration and localization. However, most, if not all, nanoparticles in clinics or research are synthetic, with no long-term studies on the effect of these nanoparticles in vivo. Herein, we developed a synergistic resveratrol nanoparticle system by using lecithin encapsulation. Lecithin, being a fully natural phospholipid derived from soybean, possesses inherent anti-tumor activity.

Methods

Lec(RSV) was successfully prepared using the nanoprecipitation method, and characterized by particle size and zeta potential analysis, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The in vitro cellular uptake and cytotoxic effects of Lec(RSV) were investigated in human breast cancer cell line BT474. Finally, the in vivo tumoral uptake of Lec(RSV) was carried out in the BT474 orthotopic model.

Results

Lec(RSV) showed a uniform distribution of ~120 nm, with prolonged stability. Lec(RSV) showed high cellular uptake and anti-cancer properties in vitro. Time-dependent uptake in the BT474 xenograft model indicated an increased tumoral uptake and apoptosis rate at 4 hours after tail vein injection of Lec(RSV).

Conclusion

Taken together, we successfully developed a fully natural Lec(RSV) that possesses potent anti-cancer activity in vitro, with good tumoral uptake in vivo. We hypothesize that Lec(RSV) could be a safe anti-cancer therapeutic that could be easily translated into clinical application.

Preparation, characterization and stability of nanoliposomes loaded with peptides from defatted walnut (Juglans regia L.) meal

This study aimed to encapsulate walnut peptides with different molecular weights (crude peptides, 5-10 kDa and < 5 kDa) within nanoliposomes. The peptides with molecular weight (MW) of 5-10 kDa (F2) was chosen as a representative sample to indicate the formation mechanism of nanoliposomes using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The storage and simulated digestion experiment were carried out to evaluate the protective effect of nanoliposomes loading walnut peptides. Our results indicated that the amino acid composition was affected by peptide MW, and F2 exhibited the highest content of hydrophobic amino acids content. The MW of peptides also affected the distribution of the peptide of nanoliposomes, resulting in changes in particle size, ζ-potential, and encapsulation efficiency. The SEM exhibited that a high concentration of nanoliposomes might result in phospholipid fusion and larger particle diameters. The TEM showed individual nanoliposomes had spherical, smooth and full vesicle structures. The nanoliposomes could improve the stability of walnut peptides during storage. The maximum peptides retention after in vitro digestion was 61.6%, indicating a better sustained release in gastric digestion. The present study suggested that nanoliposomes can offer adequate protection to the walnut peptides during storage and digestion.

Microfluidization trends in the development of nanodelivery systems and applications in chronic disease treatments

Plant bioactive compounds are known for their extensive health benefits and therefore have been used for generations in traditional and modern medicine to improve the health of humans. Processing and storage instabilities of the plant bioactive compounds, however, limit their bioavailability and bioaccessibility and thus lead researchers in search of novel encapsulation systems with enhanced stability, bioavailability, and bioaccessibility of encapsulated plant bioactive compounds. Recently many varieties of encapsulation methods have been used; among them, microfluidization has emerged as a novel method used for the development of delivery systems including solid lipid nanocarriers, nanoemulsions, liposomes, and so on with enhanced stability and bioavailability of encapsulated plant bioactive compounds. Therefore, the nanodelivery systems developed using microfluidization techniques have received much attention from the medical industry for their ability to facilitate controlled delivery with enhanced health benefits in the treatment of various chronic diseases. Many researchers have focused on plant bioactive compound-based delivery systems using microfluidization to enhance the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of encapsulated bioactive compounds in the treatment of various chronic diseases. This review focuses on various nanodelivery systems developed using microfluidization techniques and applications in various chronic disease treatments.

Angiotensin-I-Converting Enzyme (ACE)-Inhibitory Peptides from Plants

Hypertension is an important factor in cardiovascular diseases. Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors like synthetic drugs are widely used to control hypertension. ACE-inhibitory peptides from food origins could be a good alternative to synthetic drugs. A number of plant-based peptides have been investigated for their potential ACE inhibitor activities by using in vitro and in vivo assays. These plant-based peptides can be obtained by solvent extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis with or without novel food processing methods, and fermentation. ACE-inhibitory activities of peptides can be affected by their structural characteristics such as chain length, composition and sequence. ACE-inhibitory peptides should have gastrointestinal stability and reach the cardiovascular system to show their bioactivity. This paper reviews the current literature on plant-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides including their sources, production and structure, as well as their activity by in vitro and in vivo studies and their bioavailability.

Optimization of Conditions for Cyanidin-3-OGlucoside (C3G) Nanoliposome Production by Response Surface Methodology and Cellular Uptake Studies in Caco-2 Cells

We aimed to optimize the formulation of C3G nanoliposomes using response surface methodology. Additionally, we evaluated the stability, particle change, and encapsulation efficiency (EE) of C3G nanoliposomes under different temperatures and storage durations, as well as in simulated gastrointestinal juice (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid. The morphology of C3G nanoliposomes was observed by transmission electron microscope. The ability of C3G nanoliposomes to affect cancer cell morphology and inhibit cancer cell proliferation was studied with Caco-2 cells. Reverse-phase evaporation method is a simple and efficient method for liposome preparation. The optimal preparation conditions for this method were as follows: C3G concentration of 0.17 mg/mL, phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol ratio of 2.87, and rotary evaporation temperature of 41.41 °C. At optimal conditions, the particle size and EE of the C3G nanoliposomes were 165.78 ± 4.3 nm and 70.43% ± 1.95%, respectively. The C3G nanoliposomes showed an acceptable stability in SGF at 37 °C for 4 h, but were unstable under extended storage durations and high temperatures. Moreover, our results showed that different concentrations of C3G nanoliposomes affected the morphology and inhibited the proliferation of Caco-2 cells.

Hyper-cell-permeable micelles as a drug delivery carrier for effective cancer therapy

Although PEGylated liposomes (PEG-LS) have been intensively studied as drug-delivery vehicles, the rigidity and the hydrophilic PEG corona of liposomal membranes often limits cellular uptake, resulting in insufficient drug delivery to target cells. Thus, it is necessary to develop a new type of lipid-based self-assembled nanoparticles capable of enhanced cellular uptake, tissue penetration, and drug release than conventional PEGylated liposomes. Herein, we describe a simple modification of bicellar formulation in which the addition of a PEGylated phospholipid produced a dramatic physicochemical change in morphology, i.e., the disc-shaped bicelle became a uniformly distributed ultra-small (∼12 nm) spherical micelle. The transformed lipid-based nanoparticles, which we termed hyper-cell-permeable micelles (HCPMi), demonstrated not only prolonged stability in serum but also superior cellular and tumoral uptake compared to a conventional PEGylated liposomal system (PEG-LS). In addition, HCPMi showed rapid cellular uptake and subsequent cargo release into the cytoplasm of cancer cells. Cells treated with HCPMi loaded with docetaxel (DTX) had an IC₅₀ value of 0.16 μM, compared with 0.78 μM with PEG-LS loaded with DTX, a nearly five-fold decrease in cell viability, indicating excellent efficiency in HCPMi uptake and release. In vivo tumor imaging analysis indicated that HCPMi penetrated deep into the tumor core and achieved greater uptake than PEG-LS. Results of HCPMi (DTX) treatment of allograft and xenograft mice in vivo showed high tumoral uptake and appreciable tumor retardation, with ∼70% tumor weight reduction in the SCC-7 allograft model. Taken together, these findings indicate that HCPMi could be developed further as a highly competent lipid-based drug-delivery system.

Comparison of anticancer activity and antioxidant activity between cyanidin-3-O-glucoside liposomes and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside in Caco-2 cells in vitro

In this study, we compared the antioxidant activities of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) and C3G liposomes.