Fabrication of sodium alginate/polyvinyl alcohol@ ZnNPs with SPI scaffold for evaluation of immune-stimulating and liver-protective effects in methotrexate-treated rats

Fabrication of new 3D scaffold based on sodium alginate (SA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), sesame protein isolate (SPI) and Zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) has been prepared. SPI was extracted and evaluated via its amino acid composition, solubility, and antioxidant activity. The scaffolds were formulated with different ratios of SA/PVA/Zn/SPI and investigated via different instruments FTIR, XRD and SEM/EDX. Additionally, the effect of the scaffold on the hepato-protection and immune-stimulating in methotrexate (MTX) treated rats has been studied. The results showed that SPI rich in Arginine (21.33 %), Histidine (15 %), Aspartic acid (12.7 %) and Glutamic acid (9.69 %). SPI exhibited higher solubility and antioxidant activity at pH 7 (47.55 and 87.23 %) when measured by DPPH and ABTS methods respectively. SPI and Zn have the ability to mitigate the effects of MTX on body weight loss. SA/PVA/ZnNPs and SA/PVA/ZnNPs/SPI scaffolds have potential liver protection by down-regulating liver functions (34.83 ± 1.17 U/L and 27.83 ± 1.08 U/L, respectively for ALT and 53.00 ± 1.15 U/L and 48.29 ± 1.29 U/L, respectively for AST) and oxidative and inflammatory markers (MDA, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) and up-regulating liver antioxidant enzymes (GPx and SOD). Furthermore, the immune-enhancing effects of SA/PVA/ZnNPs and SA/PVA/ZnNPs/SPI scaffolds were demonstrated by the reduction in INF-γ (33.17 ± 0.94 pg/mL and 27.73 ± 0.68 pg/mL, respectively) and CD 8 (381.5 ± 2.56 pg/mL and 337.8 ± 1.87 pg/mL, respectively) levels and the elevation in CD 4 /CD 8 ratio (1.79 ± 0.02 and 3.00 ± 0.01, respectively) comparable to the MTX group (41.25 ± 0.85 pg/mL, 531.7 ± 2.56 pg/mL and 0.99 ± 0.005, respectively). Thus, the scaffold may have a role in liver protection and immune enhancement.