Garcinol Encapsulated Ph-Sensitive Biodegradable Nanoparticles: A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The emergence of pH-sensitive nanoscale particles is beneficial due to their ability to only release cargo in a colonic pH environment, which helps to directly target inflamed tissues in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Hence, we have designed the formulation of pH-sensitive biodegradable garcinol (GAR)-loaded poly (lactic–co–glycolic acid) (PLGA) coated with Eudragit^® S100 (ES100) (GAR-PLGA-ES100 nanoparticles (NPs)) for reducing inflammation caused by proinflammatory cytokines.

The GAR-PLGA-ES100 NPs were prepared using a solvent evaporation technique and characterized for shape and surface morphology. An in vitro drug release study revealed the release of the drug specifically from NPs at the colonic pH of 7.4. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the GAR-PLGA-ES100 NPs was also evaluated and found to be highly biocompatible with CACO-2 cells. These NPs were able to reduce lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Inhibition of the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α , chemokine interleukin (IL)-8 and the nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B-cells (NF-κB) was observed after GAR-PLGA-ES100 NPs treatment.

Therefore, our results support the idea that GAR-PLGA-ES100 NPs show substantial improvement after the release of the drug, specifically in colonic pH targeting and reduction in the activation of inflammation that leads to IBD, suggesting that GAR-PLGA-ES100 NPs are promising candidates for oral delivery to colonic inflamed tissue.

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Article information: Jacob, E.M.; Borah, A.; Pillai, S.C.; Kumar, D.S.. Polymers 2021, 13, 862. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13060862