Glucan particles as anti-inflammatory agent and drug delivery system for natural compounds in experimentally induced intestinal inflammation in vivo

β-Glucans, polysaccharides consisting of glucose polymers, have been described for their immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory potential in many in vitro and in vivo studies [1]. Glucan particles (GPs) – hollow porous Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell walls consisting mainly of β-1,3-d-glucans, can moreover be used as drug delivery system [2]. The aim of our study was to confirm anti-inflammatory effect of GPs on experimentally induced colitis and their role as drug delivery system for natural anti-inflammatory drugs.

In our experiment, we used glucan particles prepared by the partial extraction of yeast cell components as described in literature [3] and then loaded them with curcumin. Dextran sodium sulphate induced colitis was used as a model of intestinal inflammation. The activity of disease was monitored, the colonic tissue was evaluated macroscopically, histologically, and by performing immunodetection to determine levels of proteins associated with inflammation and antioxidant enzymes.

Encapsulated curcumin exerted better therapeutic effectivity than curcumin alone. It delayed onset of disease and reduced the disease activity index. Encapsulated curcumin affected the expression of interleukins, TNF-α, CAT and SOD-2. Glucan particles alone were also able to significantly reduce inflammation.

Obtained results indicated the strong potential of GPs as carrier for anti-inflammatory drugs and combined with curcumin they seem to be promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of inflammatory diseases.

This work was supported by Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, grant no 16 – 27522A.

[1] Du, B, et al. Trends in Food Science & Technology 2015, 41: 49 – 59

[2] Soto, E, et al. Polymers 2010, 2:681 – 689

[3] Saloň, I, et al. Food and Bioproducts Processing 2016, 99: 128 – 135