INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
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2025
·
IF 8.5
Meiying Liu,Tongsheng Huang,Yiping Liu,Lihua Chen,Shijie Liao,Xinxin Gong,Mubarak G. Bello,Weifeng Zhu,Shaorong Huang,Xiaoyong Zhang
Zein and its complexes have been considered as promising carriers for encapsulating and delivering various biological active ingredients, however, there still have some issues about Zein-based drug delivery systems should be considered, including poor colloidal stability, low drug encapsulation efficiency as well as rapid initial drug release, and uncontrollable release. In this work, we reported for the first time that hyperbranched polymers (HPG) functionalized Zein with terminal alkyne (Zein-HPG-PA) can be used for loading anticancer agent curcumin (CUR) via a facile phenol-yne click reaction. The resultant product (Zein-HPG-PA@CUR) displays high drug loading capacity, small particle size and excellent water dispersibility. More importantly, almost no CUR was released from Zein-HPG-PA@CUR under pH 7.4 and the cargo will be gradually released under acidic environment. As compared with free CUR, Zein-HPG-PA@CUR shows considerable cytotoxicity towards MDA-MB-231 cells under dark environment, while the cytotoxicity was significantly enhanced upon light-irradiation, implying great potential of Zein-HPG-PA@CUR for cancer treatment. Considered the above aspects, we believe that this work should be of significant impact on the biomedical applications of Zein, especially for fabrication of Zein-based responsive drug delivery systems.
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高影响因子
FOOD HYDROCOLLOIDS
·
2025
·
IF 12.4
Zihang Yan,Sixing Lai,Suqi Yang,Kefan Ouyang,Yuanyuan Feng,Hao Hu,Xing Hu,Hua Xiong,Qiang Zhao
Active gelatin-based films (CUR-PLLF) incorporating V-type granular starch-curcumin complex (VGS-C) and ε-polylysine (PLL) were developed for the short-term refrigerated preservation of salmon fillets. The experiment demonstrates that the composite film (CUR-PLLF), exhibits an enhanced elongation at break by 36.67%, accompanied by a marked increase in DPPH radical scavenging activity from 2.40% to 9.07%. The water vapor permeability and oxygen permeability of CUR-PLLF film were reduced by 14.02% and 18.09%, respectively, and it can be completely degraded in soil within 14 d, demonstrating significant environmental advantages. In salmon fillets refrigeration experiments, CUR-PLLF inhibited bacterial proliferation and fat oxidation, resulting in a 17.25% reduction in Total volatile base nitrogen level, which were below the spoilage threshold of 25 mg/100 g. Additionally, the content of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances decreased by 30.77%. These findings suggest that the developed gelatin-based film exhibits comprehensive advantages in antibacterial properties, antioxidant activity, and biodegradability, offering an efficient and environmentally friendly solution for the preservation of salmon during short-term refrigeration.
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JOURNAL OF FOOD ENGINEERING
·
2024
·
IF 5.3
Luping Wang,Peng Wu,Zejun Hu,Yiqing Chen,Xia Jin,Ruoxuan Deng,Timothy V. Kirk,Xiao Dong Chen
Plant proteins, serving as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to animal proteins, have gained widespread usage in encapsulating various bioactive compounds like curcumin. However, understanding how plant protein-based microcapsules compare to those made with animal proteins in terms of disintegration, release, and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) remains limited. This study aims to investigate the impact of soy protein isolate (SPI) and whey protein isolate (WPI) as wall materials on the release, stability, and absorption of curcumin. Spray-dried SPI-based microcapsules (SPI–C) exhibited significantly lower encapsulation efficiency (77.1%) and loading efficiency (3.6%) compared to WPI-based microcapsules (WPI–C) (97.6% and 9.6%, respectively). Structural analysis revealed pleated hollow spherical structures for SPI-C and a concave surface with a single-chamber structure for WPI-C. SPI-C demonstrated higher proteolysis (55.8% vs . 44.1%) during in vitro digestion, leading to greater curcumin release ratio (67.9% vs . 59.2%) and digestive stability (97.9% vs . 93.7%) compared to WPI-C. Notably, SPI-C exhibited higher apparent permeability (0.97 × 10 −6 cm/s) to the ex vivo rat small intestine than WPI-C (0.44 × 10 −6 cm/s). These findings suggest improved gastrointestinal stability and absorption of curcumin encapsulated by SPI, indicating the potential for enhanced utilization of plant-derived proteins in encapsulating bioactive compounds.
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
·
2025
·
IF 8.5
Haoxin Li,Yanxi Wang,Wan Aida Wan Mustapha,Xiaoping Zhang,Fankui Zeng,Jia Liu
A fish scale (FS) gelatin-fatty acid conjugate (GFC) with alkyl chain lengths of 8–18 was constructed to increase the aqueous solubility of curcumin. The effect of alkyl chain length on the interaction between GFC and curcumin was characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), X -ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), fluorescence spectroscopy (FS), and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The surface hydrophobicity (from 4987 ± 223.79 to 9982 ± 262.78) and curcumin loading capacity (from 8.20 ± 0.54 to 31.18 ± 1.41 μg/mg) of the GFC exhibited significant enhancements through increasing alkyl chain lengths from 8 to 18. This was accompanied by a reduction in particle size (from 661.5 ± 28.9 to 329.7 ± 6.6 nm) and ζ -potential (from −2.7 ± 0.92 to −26.8 ± 0.27). FS and ITC confirmed that GOC shared an optimal binding constant ( K a , 2.40 × 10 8 L·mol −1 and 3.47 × 10 5 M −1 ) and binding site ( n , 1.45 and 2.276) with curcumin among GFCs. Increasing GFC's alkyl chain length also boosted the stability of entrapped curcumin against the thermal environment and ultraviolet radiation. These results could be beneficial for gelatin-based nanocarrier development and application.
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MOLECULAR PHARMACEUTICS
·
2025
·
IF 4.5
Jiaxin Wu,Leyan Wang,Han Lu,Yujia Huo,Zhaoyang Guo,Yuanyuan Cheng,Yunan Li,Yinsong Wang,Chunyu Li
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management remains challenging due to the inadequate efficacy and systemic toxicity of conventional therapies. Herein, we developed an inulin hydrogel loaded with self-assembled nanoparticles of curcumin and glycyrrhizic acid (CURG@IN) for IBD treatment. CURG@IN exhibited remarkable gel characteristics and enzyme-responsive drug release behavior. In vitro, CURG@IN demonstrated potent antioxidant capabilities, effectively protecting cells from oxidative injury, facilitating wound healing of epithelial cells, and regulating macrophage polarization. Additionally, it exerted inhibitory effects on the NF-κB pathway, thereby reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines. In DSS-induced colitis mice, oral CURG@IN significantly ameliorated disease activity index and restored colonic histological architecture. Gut barrier integrity was reinforced through upregulation of tight junction proteins, while microbiota analysis revealed significant restoration of microbial homeostasis. Notably, no significant toxicity was observed during treatment. Collectively, this oral therapeutic strategy provides a multimechanistic approach combining anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and microbiota-modulating effects for safe IBD therapy, with the potential for clinical application.
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Drug Design Development and Therapy
·
2023
·
IF 4.8
Chengguang Zhao,Yali Zhang,Peng Zou,Jian Wang,Wenfei He,Dengjian Shi,Huameng Li,Guang Liang,Shulin Yang
A novel class of asymmetric mono-carbonyl analogs of curcumin (AMACs) were synthesized and screened for anti-inflammatory activity. These analogs are chemically stable as characterized by UV absorption spectra. In vitro, compounds 3f, 3m, 4b, and 4d markedly inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 values in low micromolar range. In vivo, compound 3f demonstrated potent preventive and therapeutic effects on LPS-induced sepsis in mouse model. Compound 3f downregulated the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 MAPK and suppressed IκBα degradation, which suggests that the possible anti-inflammatory mechanism of compound 3f may be through downregulating nuclear factor kappa binding (NF-κB) and ERK pathways. Also, we solved the crystal structure of compound 3e to confirm the asymmetrical structure. The quantitative structure–activity relationship analysis reveals that the electron-withdrawing substituents on aromatic ring of lead structures could improve activity. These active AMACs represent a new class of anti-inflammatory agents with improved stability, bioavailability, and potency compared to curcumin. Our results suggest that 3f may be further developed as a potential agent for prevention and treatment of sepsis or other inflammation-related diseases.
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高影响因子
MOLECULES
·
2022
·Vol. 27
·期 12
·3940
·
IF 4.927
Dongge Yin,Xueling Hu,Mengru Cai,Kaixin Wang,Hulinyue Peng,Jie Bai,Yvchen Xv,Tingting Fu,Xiaoxv Dong,Jian Ni,Xingbin Yin
Curcumin (CUR) has a bright future in the treatment of cancer as a natural active ingredient with great potential. However, curcumin has a low solubility, which limits its clinical application. In this study, IRMOF-10 was created by the direct addition of triethylamine, CUR was loaded into IRMOF-10 using the solvent adsorption method, and the two were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) methods, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. We also used the MTT method, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, the annexin V/PI method, cellular uptake, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) to perform a safety analysis and anticancer activity study of IRMOF-10 and[email protected]on HepG2 cells. Our results showed that[email protected]had a CUR load of 63.96%, with an obvious slow-release phenomenon. The CUR levels released under different conditions at 60 h were 33.58% (pH 7.4) and 31.86% (pH 5.5). Cell experiments proved that IRMOF-10 was biologically safe and could promote curcumin entering the nucleus, causing a series of reactions, such as an increase in reactive oxygen species and a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential, thereby leading to cell apoptosis. In summary, IRMOF-10 is an excellent drug carrier and[email protected]is an effective anti-liver cancer sustained-release preparation.Keywords:MOFs;IRMOF-10;curcumin;HepG2 cells
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ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
·
2024
·
IF 6.2
Hongyan Li,Yiying Fu,Wangbao Gong,Guangjun Wang,Zhifei Li,Jingjing Tian,Kai Zhang,Ermeng Yu,Yun Xia,Wenping Xie,Jun Xie
The pregnane X receptor (PXR) / nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) signaling pathway plays a critical role in regulating toxin-induced inflammation and apoptosis in mammals. Whether dietary curcumin (CUR) can prevent copper (Cu)-induced liver injury via this signaling pathway remains to be established in aquatic animals. Juvenile largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ) were exposed to dietary Cu and CUR treatments for 8 weeks. The results showed that chronic Cu exposure induced oxidative stress, causing liver function damage and liver injury. Cu exposure stimulated inflammation by regulating nf-kb and pro-inflammatory genes such as tnfα and il-1β and promoted apoptotic signals in the liver by modulating bcl2 and casp3 mRNA levels. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis verified that inflammatory and apoptotic responses were important indicators of Cu-induced liver injury. CUR attenuated stress responses by enhancing the antioxidant system. Importantly, CUR significantly stimulated PXR mRNA and protein levels in the Cu + CUR group and suppressed NF-κB activation to inhibit the inflammatory and apoptotic signaling cascade. These results suggest that CUR may be an effective activator of PXR in teleost fishes, exerting cytoprotective effects on Cu-induced liver injury via a PXR-mediated NF-κB repression mechanism. In conclusion, this study is the first to demonstrate that CUR may act as a potent PXR ligand that exerts hepatoprotective effects against Cu-induced liver injury. The findings shed light on the specific regulatory role of the PXR/NF-κB signaling pathway in liver pathogenesis and its potential as a therapeutic target in teleost fishes.
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COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
·
2017
·
IF 3.887
He-Lin Xu,Zi-Liang Fan,De-Li ZhuGe,Bi-Xin Shen,Bing-Hui Jin,Jian Xiao,Cui-Tao Lu,Ying-Zheng Zhao
Severe toxicity and poor tumour penetration are two intrinsic limited factors to hinder the broad clinical application for most of first-line chemotherapeutics. In this study, a novel vitamin E succinate-grafted ε-polylysine (VES-g-PLL) polymer was synthesized by using ε-polylysine as backbone. By adjusting VES graft ratio, VES-g-PLL (50) with a theoretic VES graft ratio of 50% could self-assemble into a supermolecular micelle with a hydrodynamic diameter (D h ) of ca.20 nm, and Zeta potential of 19.6 mV. VES-g-PLL micelles themselves displayed a strong anti-tumour effect on glioma. The poorly water-soluble curcumin was effectively encapsulated in VES-g-PLL micelles with the drug loading amount and entrapment efficiency reaching 4.32% and 82.27%, respectively. In a physiologic medium, curcumin-loaded VES-g-PLL micelles (Cur-Micelles) not only remained stable without obvious drug leakage but also sustained the release of its encapsulated curcumin for a long time. Because of the ultra-small size and positively-charged surface, Cur-Micelles penetrated the deeper tumour zone than free curcumin, resulting in a significant inhibition of tumour spheroids growth. Moreover, in vivo strong antitumor effect of Cur-Micelles was also exhibited at assistance of ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction and the real-time MRI imaging demonstrated a nearly complete suppression of glioma after 28 days of treatment. TUNEL staining showed that the therapeutic mechanism of Cur-Micelles was relevant to the apoptosis of tumour cells. Finally, in vivo nontoxicity of Cur-Micelles against normal organs including heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney tissues was also demonstrated by the HE staining. In conclusion, VES-g-PLL micelles may serve as a potential carrier for curcumin to enhance tumour penetration and improve therapeutic effect on glioma.
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AAPS PHARMSCITECH
·
2020
·Vol. 21
·期 5
·1-13
·
IF 2.401
Liu Dandan,Qiao Sen,Cheng Bingchao,Li Dongyang,Chen Jisuan,Wu Qingyin,Pan Hao,Pan Weisan
Despite that either non-covalent or covalent attachment of hydrophilic polymers or surfactants onto nanodiamonds (NDs) could overcome the shortcomings of being a drug delivery system, it is hard to draw a definite conclusion which strategy is more effective. Hence, with the purpose of comparing the influence of different coating approach of NDs on the oral delivery efficiency of water-insoluble model drug curcumin (CUR), NDs were firstly modified with d -α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) via non-covalent or covalent conjugation method, and then loaded with CUR (CUR@NDs-COOH/TPGS or CUR@NDs-TPGS). In comparison with the core-shell-structured CUR@NDs-COOH/TPGS, CUR@NDs-TPGS were irregular in shape with dense TPGS film, and exhibited smaller size, more negatively potential, and higher drug loading efficiency. The covalent connection group also showed higher anti-cancer activity, cellular uptake, and permeability through the Caco-2 cell monolayers, as well as favorable distribution, penetration, and retention in rat intestines. The oral bioavailability study in rats demonstrated that CUR@NDs-TPGS showed significantly greater C max and AUC 0− t in contrast with CUR suspension and the TPGS-coated ones, respectively. The findings illustrated that covalent grafting TPGS onto the surface of NDs possesses better efficacy and biocompatibility on oral delivery of poorly soluble drug CUR than pristine and non-covalent coated nanoparticles.
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高影响因子
ULTRASONICS SONOCHEMISTRY
·
2026
·
IF 10.2
Zijun Wang,Huan Li,Hanlu Yu,Xinyao Wang,Jia Guo,Jia Qing,Haiying Yang,Xiaoqing Xiao,Rongrong Wang,Yang Shan,Shenghua Ding
Curcumin (Cur) is a hydrophobic phenolic compound with superior biological activity, but the limited water solubility, chemical instability, and poor bioaccessibility of curcumin restrict its application. This study developed pea protein isolate (PPI)-folic acid (FA) covalent complexes as nanocarriers for the encapsulation, protection, and precise delivery of curcumin. The results of SDS-PAGE, XPS, and FTIR demonstrated that covalent complexation between PPI and FA was formed through an ultrasound-assisted free radical grafting method. Notably, ultrasonication for 15 min (PPI-FA-US15) achieved a higher FA loading capacity (44.78 ± 0.37 µg/mg) than the traditional free radical grafting for 24 h (36.45 ± 0.43 µg/mg). The ultrasonic treatment and covalent complexation of FA greatly improved the solubility of PPI (from 61.34 ± 0.67% to 97.02 ± 0.88%). Curcumin was efficiently encapsulated within the core of PPI-FA-US15 conjugates to form PPI-FA15-Cur nanocomplexes by hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction. The complexation of FA improved the binding affinity of PPI for curcumin. PPI-FA15-Cur demonstrated a 1.97-fold superior loading capacity for curcumin compared to PPI-Cur. Meanwhile, PPI-FA15-Cur displayed a spherical morphology, and maintained a stable particle size distribution during 77-d storage. The heating stability, photochemical stability and antioxidant property of curcumin were significantly improved. Furthermore, in vitro digestion studies demonstrated that PPI-FA15-Cur showed a sustained release of curcumin. The bioaccessibility of curcumin within PPI-FA15-Cur was about 4.75-fold and 1.11-fold higher than that of free curcumin and PPI-Cur, respectively. This study provides a promising approach for developing plant protein-based carriers that enable precise delivery of curcumin in functional foods.
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高影响因子
JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING
·
2026
·Vol. 49
·期 9
·e70809
·
IF 3.5
Yonghua Bao,Weiyuan Chen,Xiaohong Zhou,Sudan Ye,Chunhui Fu
A multifunctional intelligent packaging film was fabricated by co-incorporating Lycium ruthenicum anthocyanins (LRAs) and curcumin (CUR) into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix. Microstructural and spectroscopic analyses supported the successful incorporation of both pigments and their intermolecular interactions with the PVA matrix. Notably, the physicochemical and functional properties of the composite films varied with the LRA/CUR ratio. Specifically, the CUR-dominant formulation (1:2) exhibited the highest elongation at break (86.13%) and antioxidant activity (DPPH scavenging rate of 63%) among the binary formulations, together with stronger antibacterial activity. Conversely, the LRA-dominant film (2:1) exhibited greater color stability and the strongest ammonia response (maximum Δ E = 35.02). When applied to chilled mutton stored at 4°C for 8 days, the intelligent films displayed progressive color transitions from yellow-orange to reddish-orange as spoilage progressed. These chromatic variations were accompanied by increases in pH (from 6.42 to 7.41) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content (from 9.29 to 39.41 mg/100 g). Overall, the LRA/CUR-PVA films combined freshness indication with active preservation, demonstrating their potential for intelligent chilled-meat packaging.
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危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）