Self-assembly and directed assembly of lipid nanocarriers for prevention of liver fibrosis in obese rats: a comparison with the therapy of bariatric surgery

AIM: Whether the obesity prevention by chemicals or surgeries in already obese patients is the better choice remains controversial. We aimed to compare the effect of orally silibinin-loaded nanocarriers and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery on hepatic fibrosis in high-fat feeding-induced obese rats. METHODOLOGY: The developed nanocarriers included self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC). RESULTS: A significant decrease in collagen production and lipid droplet formation was observed upon nanosystem and bariatric surgery than the rats treated with silibinin control suspension. Stage 3 fibrosis was present in 33% of the obese rats. This percentage could be minimized to 0% by SNEDDS and NLC. Following oral administration, SNEDDS and NLC resulted in 3.5- and 2.9-fold increase, respectively, in bioavailability compared with the reference suspension. CONCLUSION: Nanomedicine prevention provided a comparable efficiency to ameliorate liver steatosis as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass due to the improvement of silibinin dissolution and gastrointestinal permeation.