Studies on therapeutic effects of nanoencapsulated herbal compounds on silica induced lung fibrosis in rats

Abstract

newline ABSTRACT newlineStudies on therapeutic effects of nanoencapsulated herbal compounds on silica-induced lung fibrosis in rats newlineIntroduction: newlineSilicosis is progressive and irreversible, fatal fibrotic lung disease has huge global disease burden. Available treatments are only supportive and transitory with frequent antagonist effects. Active phyto-compounds (APCs) effectively halt the silicosis progression but first fast mechanism and low bioavailability reduced the APCs delivery at site of action. newlineMethodology: newlineA true experimental design utilizing two arm comparative interventional animal studies was carried out at Department of Biochemistry, JNMC, Central Preclinical (Animal) Research Facility, DMIHER (DU), Sawangi (M), Wardha and Department of Biotechnology, PCE, Nagpur. Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) was used for nanoencapsulation of APCs, diosgenin (DG) and emodin (ED)-loaded individual (DGn and EDn) and combined (DG+EDn) herbal nano-drug formulations via modified solvent-emulsion-diffusion-evaporation method. Functional stability of prepared nano-drugs and in vitro physiological characterization including mean particle sizes distribution, polydispersity index, surface zeta potential, and morphological examinations were performed. Moreover, drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were also evaluated by measuring drug concentration through spectroscopy and HPLC method. The comparative in vivo pharmacokinetic investigation of pure drug and their respective nano-drug forms were carried out in animal model (rat). To therapeutic potential of prepared herbal nano-drugs were evaluated in respirable silica dust (RSD)-induced pulmonary fibrosis silicosis animal (rat) model. The effects of all nano-drug formulations including cell viability, oxidative-antioxidant status, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and lung inflammation, amount of collagen deposition and pulmonary fibrosis and alveolitis were investigated using appropriate scientific procedure and compared with pure drug effects. A newlinestatistical analysis was perfor