Combined Amphiphilic Silybin Meglumine Nanosuspension Effective Against Hepatic Fibrosis in Mice Model

Abstract

Introduction: Silybin (SLB) as an effective hepatoprotective phytomedicine has been limited by its hydrophobicity, poor bioavailability and accumulation at lesion sites. Additionally, present drug loading methods are impeded by their low drug loading capacity, potential hazard of materials and poor therapeutic effects. Consequently, there is a pressing need to devise an innovative approach for preparing nanosuspensions loaded with both SLB and Silybin Meglumine salt (SLB-M), as well as to investigate the therapeutic effects of SLB nanosuspensions against hepatic fibrosis. Methods: The SLB nanosuspension (NS-SLB) was prepared and further modified with a hyaluronic acid-cholesterol conjugate (NS-SLB-HC) to improve the CD44 targeting proficiency of NS-SLB. To validate the accumulation of CD44 and ensure minimal cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity assessments were carried out for the nanosuspensions. Western blotting was employed to evaluate the anti-hepatic fibrosis efficacy in LX-2 cells by inhibiting the secretion of collagen I. Hepatic fibrosis mouse models were used to further confirm the effectiveness of NS-SLB and NS-SLB-HC against hepatic fibrosis in vivo. Results: Uniform nanosuspensions were prepared through self-assembly, achieving high drug loading rates of 89.44% and 60.67%, respectively. Both SLB nanosuspensions showed minimal cytotoxicity in cellular environments and mitigated hepatic fibrosis in vitro. NS-SLB-HC was demonstrated to target activated hepatic stellate cells by receptor-ligand interaction between HA and CD44. They can reverse hepatic fibrosis in vivo by downregulating TGF-β and inhibiting the secretion of α-SMA and collagen I. Conclusion: Designed as a medical excipient analogue, SLB-M was aimed to establish an innovative nanosuspension preparation method, characterized by high drug loading capacity and a notable impact against hepatic fibrosis.

Research Progress Regarding the Effect and Mechanism of Dietary Polyphenols in Liver Fibrosis

“…Silymarin is a mixture of seven flavonoids, which are called silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A and isosilybin B, silydianin, silychristin and taxifolin [ 81 , 82 ]. They can reverse hepatic fibrosis in vivo by downregulating TGF-β and inhibiting the secretion of α-SMA and CoI-l [ 38 ]. The data aggregated from this study clearly demonstrate that the nanoparticle formulation of silymarin is more effective than the pure silymarin formulation, including controlled release, minimal cytotoxicity, lower dose, targeted entry into hepatic stellate cells for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis [ 82 , 83 , 84 ].…”