Dual-Loaded Nanocarriers With High Stability in Gastrointestinal Tract for Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension Prevention

Today, synthetic drugs with side effects on health are used as agents for treating diseases. Moreover, these agents are utilized in the treatment of one specific disease. Consequently, it is essential to develop natural systems that do not harm health and instead foster healing for a range of diseases upon consumption. Therefore, the study focused on examining the behavior of nanocarriers containing the combination of Quercus infectoria gall-derived phenolic powder (GP) and pomegranate seed-derived peptide (BP) on type 2 diabetes and hypertension in the in vitro gastrointestinal tract. Firstly, the plausible conditions (enzyme type: Alcalase and enzyme-to-protein ratio: 1/20, w/w) for BP production were performed. Nanoliposomal systems having four different natures were called B-NL (nanoliposome prepared without phyto-active), GP-NL (phenolic-loaded nanoliposome), BP-NL (peptide-loaded nanoliposome), and GPBP-NL (both phenolic and peptide-loaded nanoliposome). The conversion of protein to peptide resulted in the disappearance of characteristic protein bands in SDS-PAGE. FTIR spectra indicated that physical interactions predominated within nanocarriers. SEM images showed the dominance of spherical structures for all samples. Particle size (228.90-364.30 nm), polydispersity index (PDI: 0.10-0.48), zeta potential (14.50-17.00 mV), and encapsulation efficiency (EE: 86.33%-90.30%) of nanoliposomes were elaborated. Bioaccessibility of GP (40.05%) and BP (38.09%) was lower than those of their nano-encased forms (85.92%-87.03%). Also, GP-NL, BP-NL, and GPBP-NL displayed superior inhibition activity toward key enzymes associated with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in the micellar phase compared to their uncoated forms. Ultimately, innovative bifunctional nanocarriers with high potential for treating diabetes and hypertension were developed.