In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of silymarin/hydroxyapatite/chitosan nanocomposites and its cytotoxic effect using brine shrimp lethality assay.

Abstract

Silymarin, a bioactive compound, is one of the most prominent drugs used in liver diseases. Chitosan and hydroxyapatite (HAP) are the major materials used employed in many biomedical processes like drug delivery, osteointegration, etc. The nanoparticles and nanocomposites are advanced materials with many biomedical applications in diagnosis and therapeutics. In this study, HAP and chitosan were used as a polymeric material, silymarin as a bioactive compound, and other nanoparticle based combinations. The prepared individual materials and nanocomposites were used for the anti-inflammatory activity and brine shrimp lethality assay. The results clearly show that the nanocomposites are good anti-inflammatory agents with lower toxicity.