Bridging biotechnology and nanomedicine to produce biogreen whey-nanovesicles for intestinal health promotion
New intestinal health-promoting biotechnological nanovesicles were manufactured by combining the main environmental pollutant generated from the cheese-making process, whey, with phospholipid, sodium hyaluronate and dextrin, thus overcoming environmental and medical challenges. An efficient, consolidated and eco-friendly preparation method was employed to manufacture the vesicles and the bioactive whey was obtained by mesophilic dark fermentation without external inoculum through a homolactic pathway, which was operated in such a way as to maximize the production of lactic acid.
Highlights
- A homolactic dark fermentation was used to maximize the lactic acid in whey.
- Vesicles were assembled with fermented whey, dextrin, hyaluronan and phospholipid.
- The biotechnological nanovesicles counteracted oxidative stress in Caco-2 cells.
- Hyalonutriosomes stimulated the proliferation of Streptococcus salivarius K12.
The biotechnological nutriosomes and hyalonutriosomes were relatively small (∼100 nm) and characterized by the net negative surface charge (>-30 mV). The addition of maltodextrin to the liposomes and especially to the hyalurosomes significantly stabilized the vesicles under acidic conditions, simulating the gastric environment, as their size and polydispersity index were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than those of the other formulations. The vesicles were effectively internalized by Caco-2 cells and protected them against oxidative stress. Nutriosomes promoted the proliferation of Streptococcus salivarius, a human commensal bacterium, to a better extent (p < 0.05) than liposomes and hyalurosomes, as a function of the concentration tested. These findings could open a new horizon in intestinal protection and health promotion by integrating biotechnology, nanomedicine, sustainability principles and bio-circular economy.
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Maria Manconi, Maryam Rezvani, Maria Letizia Manca, Elvira Escribano-Ferrer, Sara Fais, Germano Orrù, Twan Lammers, Fabiano Asunis, Aldo Muntoni, Daniela Spiga, Giorgia De Gioannis, Bridging biotechnology and nanomedicine to produce biogreen whey-nanovesicles for intestinal health promotion, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Volume 633, 2023, 122631, ISSN 0378-5173,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.122631.