Fabrication and characterization of agarwood extract-loaded nanocapsules and evaluation of their toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity on RAW 264.7 cells and in zebrafish embryos

• Main Authors: A. Eissa, Manar, Hashim, Yumi Zuhanis Has-Yun, Mohd Nasir, Mohd Hamzah, Ahmad Nor, Yusilawati, Mohd Salleh, Hamzah, Md Isa, Muhammad Lokman, Syed Abd Azizz, Saripah Salbiah, Abd Warif, Nor Malia, Ramadan, Eman, M. Badawi, Noha
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2021
• Subjects: Q Science (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/95007/1/95007_Fabrication%20and%20characterization%20of%20agarwood_WoS.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/95007/2/95007_Fabrication%20and%20characterization%20of%20Agarwood.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/95007/13/95007_Fabrication%20and%20characterization%20of%20agarwood_Scopus.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/95007/; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epub/10.1080/10717544.2021.2012307?needAccess=true

Aquilaria malaccensis has been traditionally used to treat several medical disorders including inflammation. However, the traditional claims of this plant as an anti-inflammatory agent has not been substantially evaluated using modern scientific techniques. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of Aquilaria malacensis leaf extract (ALEX-M) and potentiate its activity through nano-encapsulation. The extract-loaded nanocapsules were fabricated using water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) emulsion method and characterized via multiple techniques including DLS, TEM, FTIR, and TGA. The toxicity and the anti-inflammatory activity of ALEX-M and the extract-loaded nanocapsules (ALEX-M-PNCs) were evaluated in-vitro on RAW 264.7 macrophages and in-vivo on zebrafish embryos. The nanocapsules demonstrated spherical shape with mean particle diameter of 167.13 ± 1.24 nm, narrow size distribution (PDI ¼ 0.29 ± 0.01), and high encapsulation efficiency (87.36 ± 1.81%). ALEX-M demonstrated high viability at high concentrations in RAW 264.7 cells and zebrafish embryos, however, ALEX-M-PNCs showed relatively higher cytotoxicity. Both free and nano encapsulated extract expressed anti-inflammatory effects through significant reduction of the pro-inflammatory mediator nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS/IFNc-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages and zebrafish embryos in a concentration-dependent manner. The findings highlight that ALEX-M can be recognized as a potential anti-inflammatory agent, and its anti-inflammatory activity can be potentiated by nano-encapsulation. Further studies are warranted toward investigation of the mechanistic and immunomodulatory roles of ALEX-M