Abstract
Hydroxyapatite is an important fish bone calcium in tuna head, which is widely used to repair of bone defect. Chitosan is a degradable basic polysaccharide with good biocompatibility and bone guiding, which can achieve targeted delivery to the injured spinal cord after spinal cord injury (SCI). This study aimed to evaluate the beneficial effects of chitosan combined hydroxyapatite (chitosan-hydroxyapatite) nanoparticles on SCI. The result revealed the chitosan-hydroxyapatite particles were successfully constructed and the stability of particles was maintained at low temperature. Moreover, we found chitosan-hydroxyapatite administration could improve SCI, while chitosan alone treatment resulted in no significant increase of the Basso Beattie Bresnahan (BBB) scores compared with the control group. In addition, chitosan-hydroxyapatite particles also significantly reduced the lesion cavity volume and improved the dispersed structure, indicating it could promote the recovery of tissue function of SCI rats. This study explored the effects of chitosan-hydroxyapatite nanoparticles on the location and function of spinal cord injury, provided experimental evidence for further research on its application in spinal cord repair, and helped improve the efficient use of tuna heads.
Highlights
Tuna is a large, medium-sized and upper-layered fish that is distributed in the middle and low latitudes of the ocean, and has high economic value [1]
This study explored the effects of chitosan-hydroxyapatite nanoparticles on the location and function of spinal cord injury, and provided experimental evidence for further research on its application in spinal cord repair
Tuna heads are rich in fish bone calcium
Summary
Medium-sized and upper-layered fish that is distributed in the middle and low latitudes of the ocean, and has high economic value [1]. In recent years, owing to the rich in high-quality protein, docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and other polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the meat is tender and soft, tuna is favored by consumers and is an important ocean food commodity fish [2]. Nutritious, and rich in biologically active substances such as EPA and DHA, but it will produce a lot of scraps, including fish head, offal, fish bone, fish tail and fish skin [3, 4]. Tuna head is an important part of the scraps and rich in crude fats and fatty acids, but the large proportion of fish bones in the fish head makes it difficult to process and use [5]. Tuna head soup is rich in various proteins such as collagen, oligopeptides and chondroitin, and has a very rich calcium content, as high as 20–30% [8]
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