Evaluation of berberine/bovine serum albumin nanoparticles for liver fibrosis therapy

Excretion of hazardous pharmaceutical residues causes the emergence of toxic potential to the environment. Nanomedicine is commonly associated with nanoparticulate drug delivery to offer the improved therapeutic effects at a lower dose for disease treatments. Green chemistry aims to reduce or exclude the utilisation or generation of toxic substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products. The use of non-toxic and biodegradable materials in pharmaceutical formulations could minimize the adverse effects of pharmaceutical residues entering the environment in the first place. In our study, bovine serum albumin, a non-toxic, biodegradable and biocompatible protein, was used in the formation of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems. Glucose was used instead of glutaraldehyde to modify albumin nanoparticles for berberine delivery in order to prevent the potential toxicity to humans and the environment. These nanoparticles highly inhibited LX-2 cell growth and exhibited stronger caspase 3 activation at a lower dose when compared with free drug in vitro. Nanoparticles with berberine at doses of 1 and 2 μg g−1 could rescue mice from CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in vivo. Green glucose-bovine serum albumin nanoparticles could be safe and effective to deliver berberine at low doses in liver fibrosis treatment.