Liposomes are among the most studied nanostructures. They are effective carriers of active substances both in the clinical field, such as delivering genes and drugs, and in the food industry, such as promoting the controlled release of bioactive substances, including food preservatives. However, toxicological screenings must be performed to ensure the safety of nanoformulations. In this study, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was used as an alternative model to investigate the potential in vivo toxicity of nanoliposomes encapsulating the antimicrobial peptide nisin. The effects of liposomes containing nisin, control liposomes, and free nisin were evaluated through the survival rate, lethal dose (LD50), nematode development rate, and oxidative stress status by performing mutant strain, TBARS, and ROS analyses. Due to its low toxicity, it was not possible to experimentally determine the LD50 of liposomes. The survival rates of control liposomes and nisin-loaded liposomes were 94.3 and 73.6%, respectively. The LD50 of free nisin was calculated as 0.239 mg mL-1. Free nisin at a concentration of 0.2 mg mL-1 significantly affected the development of C. elegans, which was 25% smaller than the control and liposome-treated samples. A significant increase in ROS levels was observed after exposure to the highest concentrations of liposomes and free nisin, coinciding with a significant increase in catalase levels. The treatments induced lipid peroxidation as evaluated by TBARS assay. Liposome encapsulation reduces the deleterious effect on C. elegans and can be considered a nontoxic delivery system for nisin.
Keywords: antimicrobial peptide; food preservative; liposomes; nanoencapsulation; nanotoxicology.