β-Sitosterol–Naringenin Co-Loaded Nanophytosomes: Encapsulation, Compound-Specific Release Kinetics, Machine Learning-Assisted Release Prediction, and Cell-Dependent Anticancer Activity
9 affiliations
- 1College of Dentistry, Ibn Sina University of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Baghdad 10015, Iraq
- 2Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan
- 3School of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Babylon, Babylon 51001, Iraq
- 4Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt 19117, Jordan
- 5Department of Cosmetic Science, Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Centre, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan
- 6Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, American University of Madaba, Madaba 11821, Jordan
- 7Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
- 8Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Al-Nisour University, Baghdad 10013, Iraq
- 9Cell Therapy Centre, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
Abstract
β-Sitosterol and naringenin have anticancer potential but poor biopharmaceutical properties, while their behavior when co-encapsulated remains poorly defined. This study examined whether co-loading alters encapsulation efficiency, compound-specific release behavior, predictability, and cell-dependent activity. Single- and co-loaded nanophytosomes were characterized for encapsulation and release. Release profiles underwent comparative kinetic modelling, uncertainty-aware augmentation, early-to-late ridge-regression forecasting, Weibull-parameter reconstruction, and exploratory reconstructed-replicate holdout assessment. Cytotoxicity was assessed in A549 (ATCC CCL-185), HCT116 (ATCC CCL-247), and HEK293 (ATCC CRL-1573) cells, with docking against MEK1, COX-2, and PI3Kα. Co-loading increased β-sitosterol encapsulation from 5.92% to 66.61% but reduced naringenin encapsulation from 89.76% to 40.40% (p = 0.02), the co-loaded formulation also exhibited the smallest vesicles (132.7 ± 3.2 nm). At 48 h, release reached 87.30% and 73.24%, respectively; Weibull best described β-sitosterol and Higuchi naringenin, revealing asynchronous release and a time-dependent delivery ratio. Across 1200 augmented profiles, first-4-h measurements predicted 6–48-h release with R2 = 0.976–0.996, while parameter-based reconstruction reproduced compound-specific trajectories. Exploratory reconstructed-replicate assessment yielded a pooled R2 of 0.938 (mean absolute error (MAE) = 3.32%; root-mean-square error (RMSE) = 4.78%). The co-loaded formulation showed its strongest relative activity in A549 cells and better preserved HEK293 viability than the free combination, whereas the free combination was more active in HCT116 cells. Naringenin docked across all targets (7.58 to −8.40 kcal/mol), whereas β-sitosterol showed weaker binding and no COX-2 pose. Co-loading was associated with opposing encapsulation trends, while the resulting formulation exhibited compound-specific release kinetics and cell-dependent responses rather than uniformly enhanced activity. Integrating physicochemical characterization, kinetic discrimination, predictive modelling, docking, and cell testing provides a multidimensional framework for dual-bioactive nanophytosomes.
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BibTeX
@article{mahmood2026βsitosterolnaringenin,
title = {{β-Sitosterol–Naringenin Co-Loaded Nanophytosomes: Encapsulation, Compound-Specific Release Kinetics, Machine Learning-Assisted Release Prediction, and Cell-Dependent Anticancer Activity}},
author = {Tabarek H. Mahmood and Ali Al-Samydai and Firas F. Al-Mamoori and Moath Alqaraleh and Maha N. Abu Hajleh and Amal Mayyas and Said Moshawih and Alaa Al-Sanabrah and Qout Qtashat and Rawan AlMafrachi and Hussam Hussain Kassim and Ahmed S. A. Ali Agha and Hany Akeel Al-Hussaniy and Walhan AlShaer},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27219494},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9494},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - β-Sitosterol–Naringenin Co-Loaded Nanophytosomes: Encapsulation, Compound-Specific Release Kinetics, Machine Learning-Assisted Release Prediction, and Cell-Dependent Anticancer Activity
AU - Tabarek H. Mahmood
AU - Ali Al-Samydai
AU - Firas F. Al-Mamoori
AU - Moath Alqaraleh
AU - Maha N. Abu Hajleh
AU - Amal Mayyas
AU - Said Moshawih
AU - Alaa Al-Sanabrah
AU - Qout Qtashat
AU - Rawan AlMafrachi
AU - Hussam Hussain Kassim
AU - Ahmed S. A. Ali Agha
AU - Hany Akeel Al-Hussaniy
AU - Walhan AlShaer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27219494
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9494
AB - β-Sitosterol and naringenin have anticancer potential but poor biopharmaceutical properties, while their behavior when co-encapsulated remains poorly defined. This study examined whether co-loading alters encapsulation efficiency, compound-specific release behavior, predictability, and cell-dependent activity. Single- and co-loaded nanophytosomes were characterized for encapsulation and release. Release profiles underwent comparative kinetic modelling, uncertainty-aware augmentation, early-to-late ridge-regression forecasting, Weibull-parameter reconstruction, and exploratory reconstructed-replicate holdout assessment. Cytotoxicity was assessed in A549 (ATCC CCL-185), HCT116 (ATCC CCL-247), and HEK293 (ATCC CRL-1573) cells, with docking against MEK1, COX-2, and PI3Kα. Co-loading increased β-sitosterol encapsulation from 5.92% to 66.61% but reduced naringenin encapsulation from 89.76% to 40.40% (p = 0.02), the co-loaded formulation also exhibited the smallest vesicles (132.7 ± 3.2 nm). At 48 h, release reached 87.30% and 73.24%, respectively; Weibull best described β-sitosterol and Higuchi naringenin, revealing asynchronous release and a time-dependent delivery ratio. Across 1200 augmented profiles, first-4-h measurements predicted 6–48-h release with R2 = 0.976–0.996, while parameter-based reconstruction reproduced compound-specific trajectories. Exploratory reconstructed-replicate assessment yielded a pooled R2 of 0.938 (mean absolute error (MAE) = 3.32%; root-mean-square error (RMSE) = 4.78%). The co-loaded formulation showed its strongest relative activity in A549 cells and better preserved HEK293 viability than the free combination, whereas the free combination was more active in HCT116 cells. Naringenin docked across all targets (7.58 to −8.40 kcal/mol), whereas β-sitosterol showed weaker binding and no COX-2 pose. Co-loading was associated with opposing encapsulation trends, while the resulting formulation exhibited compound-specific release kinetics and cell-dependent responses rather than uniformly enhanced activity. Integrating physicochemical characterization, kinetic discrimination, predictive modelling, docking, and cell testing provides a multidimensional framework for dual-bioactive nanophytosomes.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -