ANTIOXIDANT, IN VITRO ANTIDIABETIC, AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY APPLICATIONS OF A CHEMICALLY MODIFIED SALVIA HISPANICA L. SEED MUCILAGE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71000/pszh7n02Keywords:
α-Amylase Inhibitors, Antioxidants, Drug Delivery Systems, Hydrogels, Inflammation, Salvia hispanica, Thermoresponsive PolymersAbstract
Background: Hydrogel-based drug delivery systems have gained increasing attention due to their ability to improve therapeutic efficacy through controlled release and biological responsiveness. Natural polysaccharides are particularly attractive for such applications because of their biocompatibility and functional versatility. Chia seed mucilage (Salvia hispanica L.) is a polysaccharide-rich material with inherent gel-forming and bioactive properties, yet its potential in amide-modified, thermo-responsive hydrogel systems for multifunctional biomedical use remains underexplored.
Objective: This study aimed to synthesize an amide-modified, thermo-responsive hydrogel from chia seed mucilage and acrylamide and to evaluate its in vitro antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities to assess its suitability as a multifunctional therapeutic and drug delivery material.
Methods: The hydrogel was synthesized via free radical polymerization using acrylamide as the monomer, ammonium persulfate as the initiator, and N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide as the cross-linker. Antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. Antidiabetic potential was evaluated through α-amylase inhibition kinetics, while anti-inflammatory activity was determined using the egg albumin protein denaturation assay. All experiments were performed in vitro using concentration-dependent analyses and compared with standard reference compounds.
Results: The hydrogel demonstrated strong antioxidant activity, achieving 71.90% DPPH radical scavenging at 250 µg/mL, closely comparable to ascorbic acid (71.74%). In the FRAP assay, reducing power increased dose-dependently, reaching 73.44 µmol Fe(II)/g, near the standard value of 77.29 µmol Fe(II)/g. The hydrogel exhibited marked α-amylase inhibition, achieving 76.07% inhibition at 30 µg/mL compared with 83.46% for acarbose. Anti-inflammatory assessment revealed concentration-dependent inhibition of protein denaturation, reaching 67.20% at 250 µg/mL, compared with 72.41% for diclofenac sodium.
Conclusion: The synthesized amide-modified chia seed hydrogel exhibited significant, concentration-dependent antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities, highlighting its potential as a biocompatible, multifunctional material for drug delivery applications and metabolic disorder management.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Shehar Bano, Farzana Shahin, Maryam Fatima, Rashid Mahmood, Aiman Ishfaq, Attia Khalid, Hansa Gul (Author)
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