Bromelain encapsulation in chitosan nanoparticles

Abstract

Bromelain is a collective name for proteolytic enzymes found in Bromeliaceae species, mainly in pineapple (Ananas comosus) and its stem, fruit and leaves. The most significant applications of this enzyme are in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries due to its proteolytic and sustainable character. Some of its therapeutic applications receive attention, including use as anti-inflammatory agent, treatment of diseases related to blood clotting, tumor growth modulation, selective debridement of burns and improvement of antibiotic action. Bromelain use has limitations, because it is easily denatured and degraded, as well as being unstable in some formulations. A possible alternative to overcome the stability issue and explore bromelain potential would be its encapsulation in nanoparticles, which have been shown to be the optimal method for this purpose, since they are capable of increase stability, efficacy and safety for the encapsulated active and promote an active controlled release. Chitosan, a natural polymer, is an excellent mean of encapsulating enzymes due to their chemical structure, which eases the formation of nanoparticles, and due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and mucoadhesion. This project aims to develop nanoparticles of chitosan-bromelain, as well as evaluate the efficiency of encapsulation and enzyme release, and thus it is a promising nanotechnology and pharmaceutical improvement.