PLGA nanoparticles loaded with Gallic acid- a constituent of Leea indica against Acanthamoeba triangularis

Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 2;10(1):8954. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65728-0.

Abstract

Acanthamoeba, a genus that contains at least 24 species of free-living protozoa, is ubiquitous in nature. Successful treatment of Acanthamoeba infections is always very difficult and not always effective. More effective drugs must be developed, and medicinal plants may have a pivotal part in the future of drug discovery. Our research focused on investigating the in vitro anti- acanthamoebic potential of Leea indica and its constituent gallic acid in different concentrations. Water and butanol fractions exhibited significant amoebicidal activity against trophozoites and cysts. Gallic acid (100 µg/mL) revealed 83% inhibition of trophozoites and 69% inhibition of cysts. The butanol fraction induced apoptosis in trophozoites, which was observed using tunnel assay. The cytotoxicity of the fractions and gallic acid was investigated against MRC-5 and no adverse effects were observed. Gallic acid was successfully loaded within poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles with 82.86% encapsulation efficiency, while gallic acid showed 98.24% in vitro release at 48 hours. Moreover, the gallic acid encapsulated in the PLGA nanoparticles exhibited 90% inhibition against trophozoites. In addition, gallic acid encapsulated nanoparticles showed reduced cytotoxicity towards MRC-5 compared to gallic acid, which evidenced that natural product nanoencapsulation in polymeric nanoparticles could play an important role in the delivery of natural products.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acanthamoeba / drug effects
  • Acanthamoeba / pathogenicity
  • Amebiasis / drug therapy*
  • Amebicides / pharmacology
  • Drug Carriers
  • Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
  • Gallic Acid / metabolism
  • Gallic Acid / pharmacology*
  • Nanoparticles
  • Particle Size
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Polyglycolic Acid / pharmacology
  • Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer
  • Vitaceae / metabolism

Substances

  • Amebicides
  • Drug Carriers
  • Plant Extracts
  • Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer
  • Polyglycolic Acid
  • Gallic Acid