Bovine serum albumin as a nanocarrier for the efficient delivery of ginsenoside compound K: preparation, physicochemical characterizations and in vitro biological studies

Ginsenosides are triterpenoids that are found in P. ginseng; they have numerous important structural, functional and pharmacological properties. In this work, a desolvation method was used to entrap ginsenoside CK within bovine serum albumin (BSA) to form BSA–CK nanoparticles (NPs), which enhance its aqueous solubility and stability. Following purification, the BSA–CK NPs were characterized by several physico-chemical techniques, including high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), electrophoresis, H NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM), zeta potential, particle size analysis by dynamic light scattering (DLS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA); the results confirm that the as-prepared BSA–CK NPs are spherical, highly monodispersed and stable in aqueous systems. In addition, the time-dependent and pH stabilities of the BSA–CK NPs were analyzed over a period of 8 days; the results suggest that the nanoparticles are stable in physiological buffer (pH 7.4), whereas they are readily degraded under acidic conditions (pH 5.0) which mimic intracellular pH conditions. Furthermore, comparative water solubility analysis of the BSA–CK NPs and standard CK showed that the BSA carrier enhances the water solubility of ginsenoside CK. In vitro cytotoxicity assays of the BSA–CK NPs and standard CK revealed that the BSA–CK NPs demonstrate greater in vitro therapeutic efficacy in the HaCaT skin cell line, the A549 lung cancer cell line, the HepG2 liver carcinoma cell line and the HT29 colon cancer cell line in comparison with standard CK. Moreover, RAW264.7 cells treated with BSA–CK NPs exhibited decreased lipopolysaccharide-induced NO production. Collectively, these results suggest that the BSA–CK NPs may be useful as a delivery vehicle in cancer cell lines and may also possess anti-inflammatory effects.