Nasturtium officinale contains high amounts of phytochemical compounds that work against oxidative damages leading to improved health conditions in animals as well as humans. The study was performed to investigate the health benefits of nonencapsulated and nanoliposome-encapsulated phenolic rich fractions obtained from Nasturtium officinale on mice induced colorectal cancer. The experiment focused on encapsulation efficiency in improving the effectiveness of plant bioactive compounds. Phenolic rich fractions (PRF) were successfully loaded in the nanoliposome structure, a nanometer in size, of spherical shape and with homogeneous dispersion. Induction of colorectal cancer in mice impaired weight gain and feed intake, liver function and structural characteristics of ileum, while the dietary administration of nanoliposome-encapsulated PRF regulated the expression of Caspase 3, Bax, Bcl2, iNOS and SOD genes in the tumor tissue. The addition of nonencapsulated PRF and nanoliposome encapsulated PRF at the concentration of 100 mg TPC/kg BW/day improved the genes expression, although the nanoliposome-encapsulated PRF revealed better health outcomes compared to nonencapsulated PRF. Furthermore, both PRF improved intestinal morphology when the mice were challenged with colorectal cancer. The higher health promoting activity of nanoliposome-encapsulated PRF could be associated with its enhanced intestinal absorption, bioavailability, bioaccessibility and bioactivity. Consequently, the nanoliposome-encapsulated PRF could be considered as a promising anticancer agent against colorectal cancer.
Keywords: colon; encapsulation; gene expression; health benefits; phytobiotic; phytogenic.