Solubilization and changes of physicochemical properties of baicalin by nano sponge, and toxicity of zebrafish liver

Nano-Liposomes Double Loaded with Curcumin and Tetrandrine: Preparation, Characterization, Hepatotoxicity and Anti-Tumor Effects

(1) Background: Curcumin (CUR) and tetrandrine (TET) are natural compounds with various bioactivities, but have problems with low solubility, stability, and absorption rate, resulting in low bioavailability, and limited applications in food, medicine, and other fields. It is very important to improve the solubility while maintaining the high activity of drugs. Liposomes are micro–vesicles synthesized from cholesterol and lecithin. With high biocompatibility and biodegradability, liposomes can significantly improve drug solubility, efficacy, and bioavailability. (2) Methods: In this work, CUR and TET were encapsulated with nano–liposomes and g DSPE–MPEG 2000 (DP)was added as a stabilizer to achieve better physicochemical properties, biosafety, and anti–tumor effects. (3) Results: The nano–liposome (CT–DP–Lip) showed stable particle size (under 100 nm) under different conditions, high solubility, drug encapsulation efficiency (EE), loading capacity (LC), release rate in vitro, and stability. In addition, in vivo studies demonstrated CT–DP–Lip had no significant toxicity on zebrafish. Tumor cytotoxicity test showed that CT–DP–Lip had a strong inhibitory effect on a variety of cancer cells. (4) Conclusions: This work showed that nano–liposomes can significantly improve the physical and chemical properties of CUR and TET and make them safer and more efficient.

Recent development in zebrafish model for bioactivity and safety evaluation of natural products

The zebrafish is a species of freshwater fish, popular in aquariums and laboratories. Several advantageous features have facilitated zebrafish to be extensively utilized as a valuable vertebrate model in the lab. It has been well-recognized that natural products possess multiple health benefits for humans. With the increasing demand for natural products in the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and natural cosmetics, the zebrafish has emerged as an unprecedented tool for rapidly and economically screening and identifying safe and effective substances from natural products. This review first summarized the key factors for the management of zebrafish in the laboratory, followed by highlighting the current progress on the establishment and applications of zebrafish models in the bioactivity evaluation of natural products. In addition, the zebrafish models used for assessing the potential toxicity or health risks of natural products were involved as well. Overall, this review indicates that zebrafish are promising animal models for the bioactivity and safety evaluation of natural products, and zebrafish models can accelerate the discovery of novel natural products with potential health functions.