Combined Donepezil with Astaxanthin via Nanostructured Lipid Carriers Effective Delivery to Brain for Alzheimer’s Disease in Rat Model

INTRODUCTION: Donepezil (DPL), a specific acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, is used as a first-line treatment to improve cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and it might have a disease modifying effect. Astaxanthin (AST) is a natural potent antioxidant with neuroprotective, anti-amyloidogenic, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects. This study aimed to prepare nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) co-loaded with donepezil and astaxanthin (DPL/AST–NLCs) and evaluate their in vivo efficacy in an AD-like rat model 30 days after daily intranasal administration. METHODS: DPL/AST–NLCs were prepared using a hot high-shear homogenization technique, in vitro examined for their physicochemical parameters and in vivo evaluated. AD induction in rats was performed by aluminum chloride. The cortex and hippocampus were isolated from the brain of rats for biochemical testing and histopathological examination. RESULTS: DPL/AST–NLCs showed z-average diameter 149.9 ± 3.21 nm, polydispersity index 0.224 ± 0.017, zeta potential –33.7 ± 4.71 mV, entrapment efficiency 81.25 ±1.98% (donepezil) and 93.85 ±1.75% (astaxanthin), in vitro sustained release of both donepezil and astaxanthin for 24 h, spherical morphology by transmission electron microscopy, and they were stable at 4–8 ± 2°C for six months. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that donepezil and astaxanthin were molecularly dispersed in the NLC matrix in an amorphous state. The DPL/AST–NLC-treated rats showed significantly lower levels of nuclear factor-kappa B, malondialdehyde, β-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme-1, caspase-3, amyloid beta (Aβ(1‑42)), and acetylcholinesterase, and significantly higher levels of glutathione and acetylcholine in the cortex and hippocampus than the AD-like untreated rats and that treated with donepezil–NLCs. DPL/AST–NLCs showed significantly higher anti-amyloidogenic, antioxidant, anti-acetylcholinesterase, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects, resulting in significant improvement in the cortical and hippocampal histopathology. CONCLUSION: Nose-to-brain delivery of DPL/AST–NLCs is a promising strategy for the management of AD.