Folic Acid-Functionalized Chitosan-Coated Oleosomes Engineered for Enhanced Anti-Arthritic Delivery of Syzygium cumini Seed Extract.
4 affiliations
- 1Nutrition Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21561, Egypt.
- 2Human Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 59911, United Arab Emirates.
- 3Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr el Ainy St., Cairo 11562, Egypt.
- 4Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damanhour University, Damanhour 22511, Egypt.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of folic acid-functionalized chitosan-coated oleosomes (F-CS-OL) loaded with Syzygium cumini (SYG) seed extract against rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis rat model. Methods: Rats received treatments via the oral route for 11 days following arthritis induction. The colloidal formulation exhibited an average particle size of 80.78 ± 1.02 nm, a zeta potential of -15.5 ± 1.12 mV, and an encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 94.98 ± 0.56%, alongside characterization by TEM, FTIR, and DSC. CFA-induced arthritis produced a pronounced inflammatory and angiogenic response, marked by significantly elevated serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, CRP, VEGF, ICAM-1, MMP-3, and CXCL13 compared with the normal control group. Results: While treatment with free SYG extract resulted in moderate reductions in these biomarkers, the nanoencapsulated extract (SYG-loaded F-CS-OL) produced significantly greater reductions in inflammatory, chemotactic, matrix-remodeling, and angiogenesis-associated biomarkers compared with the untreated CFA-induced arthritis group. Histopathological examination of joint tissues further supported the biochemical findings. Conclusions: Overall, SYG-loaded F-CS-OL exhibited potent anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory activities and significantly reduced biomarkers associated with angiogenic signaling in CFA-induced arthritis in CFA-induced arthritis. These findings suggest that folic acid-functionalized nanocarriers may represent a promising strategy for enhancing the therapeutic potential of SYG; however, further pharmacokinetic and safety studies are warranted to support clinical translation.
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BibTeX
@article{aborhyem2026folic,
title = {{Folic Acid-Functionalized Chitosan-Coated Oleosomes Engineered for Enhanced Anti-Arthritic Delivery of Syzygium cumini Seed Extract.}},
author = {Samar M Aborhyem and Neveen Agamy and Aamena F Abdallah and Shimaa O Ali and Haidy Abbas and Mariam Zewail},
journal = {Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ph19101658},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42943355},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Folic Acid-Functionalized Chitosan-Coated Oleosomes Engineered for Enhanced Anti-Arthritic Delivery of Syzygium cumini Seed Extract.
AU - Samar M Aborhyem
AU - Neveen Agamy
AU - Aamena F Abdallah
AU - Shimaa O Ali
AU - Haidy Abbas
AU - Mariam Zewail
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/ph19101658
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42943355
AB - Background/Objectives: This study evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of folic acid-functionalized chitosan-coated oleosomes (F-CS-OL) loaded with Syzygium cumini (SYG) seed extract against rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis rat model. Methods: Rats received treatments via the oral route for 11 days following arthritis induction. The colloidal formulation exhibited an average particle size of 80.78 ± 1.02 nm, a zeta potential of -15.5 ± 1.12 mV, and an encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 94.98 ± 0.56%, alongside characterization by TEM, FTIR, and DSC. CFA-induced arthritis produced a pronounced inflammatory and angiogenic response, marked by significantly elevated serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, CRP, VEGF, ICAM-1, MMP-3, and CXCL13 compared with the normal control group. Results: While treatment with free SYG extract resulted in moderate reductions in these biomarkers, the nanoencapsulated extract (SYG-loaded F-CS-OL) produced significantly greater reductions in inflammatory, chemotactic, matrix-remodeling, and angiogenesis-associated biomarkers compared with the untreated CFA-induced arthritis group. Histopathological examination of joint tissues further supported the biochemical findings. Conclusions: Overall, SYG-loaded F-CS-OL exhibited potent anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory activities and significantly reduced biomarkers associated with angiogenic signaling in CFA-induced arthritis in CFA-induced arthritis. These findings suggest that folic acid-functionalized nanocarriers may represent a promising strategy for enhancing the therapeutic potential of SYG; however, further pharmacokinetic and safety studies are warranted to support clinical translation.
SN - 1424-8247
ER -