Synthesis of construction of Astragalus polysaccharide-curcumin nanoaggregates based on the concept of "unification of medicines and excipients" and their study on anti-ulcerative colitis effects.

This study employs the concept of "unification of medicines and excipients " to prepare nanoaggregates by loading Curcumin (CUR) onto Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) as the drug carrier. This strategy seeks to improve CUR's bioavailability and water solubility, therefore enhance its therapeutic efficacy for the treatment or amelioration of diseases such ulcerative colitis (UC). Alcohol precipitation and water extraction were used to create APS with a purity of 92.73%, which relative molecular mass was 3.48 kDa and glucose accounts for 89%, serving as the primary backbone. The microstructure exhibits a fractured and mottled morphology, with irregular thin fragments present internally. CUR-APS nanoaggregates were prepared via self-assembly using APS as the carrier material, and its structure was characterized, bio accessibility and in vivo pharmacological efficacy were evaluated. Results showed that CUR-APS exhibits a regular spherical morphology and had a particle size of 197.2 ± 1.08 nm. Its vitro cumulative release rate increased by 7.96-fold compared with API group, within 2 h, cellular uptake and transport capacity increased by 1.59-fold and 2.58-fold, respectively. Overall efficacy results demonstrated that CUR-APS significantly alleviated the DSS-induced ulcerative colitis, reduced pro-inflammatory factor expression, and noticeably repaired the intestinal mucosal barrier in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.