In vitro antioxidant activity and in vivo antifatigue effect of layered double hydroxide nanoparticles as delivery vehicles for folic acid

Abstract

Lili Qin,1,* Wenrui Wang,2,* Songhui You,1 Jingmei Dong,1 Yunhe Zhou,1 Jibing Wang1 1Department of Physical Education, 2School of Life Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Folic acid antioxidants were successfully intercalated into layered double hydroxides (LDH) nanoparticles according to a previous method with minor modification. The resultant folic acid-LDH constructs were then characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The in vitro antioxidant activities, cytotoxicity effect, and in vivo anti­fatigue were examined by a series of assays. The results showed that folic acid-LDH antioxidant system can scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and hydroxyl free radicals and chelate pro-oxidative Cu2+. The in vitro cytotoxicity assays indicated that folic acid-LDH antioxidant system had no significant cytotoxic effect or obvious toxicity to normal cells. It also prolonged the forced swimming time of the mice by 32% and 51% compared to folic acid and control groups, respectively. It had an obvious effect on decreasing the blood urea nitrogen and blood lactic acid, while increasing muscle and hepatic glycogen levels. Therefore, folic acid-LDH might be used as a novel antioxidant and antifatigue nutritional supplement. Keywords: antioxidant supplementation, free radicals, biomaterials, drug delivery