ABSTRACT
Diets rich in omega-3 or -6 fatty acids will produce different profiles for cell membranes phospholipid constitutions. Omegas 3 and 6 are part of the diet and can modulate the inflammatory profile. We evaluated the effects of the oral absorption of fish oil, when associated with a lipid nanoemulsion in an experimental pulmonary inflammatory model. Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease associated with excessive extracellular matrix deposition. We determined to investigate the morphophysiological mechanisms in mice that were pretreated after induction with bleomycin (BLM). The pretreatment was for 21 days with saline solution, sunflower oil (SO), fish oil (FO), and fish oil nanoemulsion (NEW3). The animals received a daily dose of 50 mg/Kg of docosahexaenoic acid DHA and 10 mg/Kg eicosapentaenoic (EPA) (100 mg/Kg), represented by a daily dose of 40 µL of NEW3. The blank group was treated with the same amount daily (40 µL) during the 21 days of pretreatment. The animals were treated with SO and FO, 100 mg/Kg (containing 58 mg/Kg of polyunsaturated fats/higher% linoleic acid) and 100 mg/Kg (50 mg/Kg of DHA and 10 mg/Kg EPA), respectively. A single dose of 5 mg/mL (50 µL) bleomycin sulfate, by the intratracheal surgical method in BALB/cAnNTac (BALB/c). NEW3 significantly reduced fibrotic progression, which can be evidenced by the protection from loss of body mass, increase in respiratory incursions per minute, decreased spacing of alveolar septa, decreased severity of fibrosis, and changes in the respiratory system. NEW3 attenuated the inflammatory changes developed in the experimental model of pulmonary fibrosis, while group SO showed a significant increase in inflammatory changes. This concluded that the presented results demonstrated that is possible to positively modulate the immune and inflamamtory response to an external agressor, by changing the nutitional intake of specific fatty acids, such as omega-3 placed in fish oil. Moreover, these benefits can be improved by the nanoencapsulation of fish oil in lipid nanoemulsions.
ABSTRACT
HIGHLIGHTS Production of lipid nanoemulsions (<100 nm) of industrial interest with low energy demand. The antioxidant properties of babassu oil have been improved and the nanoemulsions are not cytotoxic. Babassu oil is a food and medicinal product. The nanoemulsion is strategic for the developed of new antioxidants phytotherapeutics.
Abstract Background: Babassu oil is an extract from a Brazilian native coconut (Orbignya phalerata Martius) and is used both as a food and a medicinal product. Methods: we produced two babassu oil nanoemulsions and evaluated them regarding their nanoscopic stability, antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity.The nanoemulsions were characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering, and their stability was investigated for 120 days. The antioxidant activity was assessed by Spectroscopy Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, and the cytotoxicity was assessed by a colorimetric method (MTT) with the NIH/3T3 cell lineage. Results: the results showed nanoemulsions with average hydrodynamic diameter lower than 100 nm (p(0.001).and a polydispersity index of less than 0.3 (p(0.001), indicating monodisperse systems and good stability at room temperature. The exposure of nanoemulsions at varying pH revealed that the isoelectric point was at 3.0, and the images obtained by Transmission Electron Microscopy showed spherical droplets with a size 27 nm. The antioxidant activity showed that the babassu nanoemulsions exposed to free radicals had a better response when compared to the oil free samples. The cell viability assays showed low toxicity of the formulation with viability over 92% (p(0.05). Conclusion: babassu oil nanoformulations showed low polydispersity and kinetic stability with effective antioxidant action. Therefore, they can be promising for application in the food industry or as antioxidant phytotherapeutics.
