Synthesis, characterization and in vitro anti-cancer evaluation of hesperetin-loaded nanoparticles in human oral carcinoma (KB) cells

Hesperetin (HET), a naturally occurring plant bioflavonoid present in citrus fruits, possesses potential anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic activities but poor aqueous solubility limits its applications. To improve its applicability in cancer therapy, hesperetin was encapsulated in Eudragit (R) E (EE) 100 nanoparticles in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a stabilizer and its anticancer efficacy in oral carcinoma (KB) cells was studied. Hesperetin-loaded nanoparticles (HETNPs) were prepared by nanoprecipitation method and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The results thus displayed that the prepared nanoparticles showed a particle size in the range from 55 to 180 nm. The encapsulation efficiency of hesperetin was 83.4% obtained by UV spectroscopy. The in vitro release kinetics of hesperetin under physiological condition show initial rapid release followed by slow and sustained release. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay revealed higher cytotoxic efficacy of HETNPs than native hesperetin in KB cells. Further, it has been found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, DNA damage and apoptotic indices in HETNPs treated cells are greater than those in native hesperetin treatment. Hence these findings demonstrate that HETNPs could be a potentially useful drug delivery system to produce better hesperetin therapeutics of cancers.