Development and characterization of trans-anethole-containing solid lipid microparticles: antiinflammatory and gastroprotective effects in experimental inflammation.

Abstract

The present study prepared, optimized, and characterized solid lipid microparticles that contained trans-anethole (SLMAN), evaluated their antiinflammatory activity in acute and chronic inflammation models, and investigated their effects on the gastric mucosa in arthritic rats. The microparticles were obtained by a hot homogenization process and characterized by physicochemical analyses. The acute inflammatory response was induced by an intradermal injection of 0.1ml of carrageenan solution (200μg) in the hind paw. The rats were treated orally with a single dose of SLMAN 1h before induction of the inflammatory response. The chronic inflammatory response was induced by the subcutaneous application of 0.1ml of complete Freund's adjuvant suspension (500µg) in the hind paw. SLMAN was orally administered, starting on the day of arthritis induction, and continued for 21days. The results showed that SLMAN was obtained with good encapsulation efficiency. Treatment with SLMAN at doses of 25 and 50mg/kg was as effective as trans-anethole (AN) at a dose of 250mg/kg on acute and chronic inflammatory responses. Histological analyses showed that treatment with SLMAN did not aggravate lesions in the gastric mucosa in arthritic rats. These results indicated that treatment with SLMAN at a dose that was 5-10 times lower than non-encapsulated AN exerted an inhibitory effect on acute and chronic inflammatory responses, suggesting the better bioavailability and efficacy of microencapsulated AN without aggravating lesions in the gastric mucosa in arthritic rats.