Protective effects of lemon nanovesicles: evidence of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway contribution from in vitro hepatocytes and in vivo high-fat diet-fed rats.

The cross-talk between plant-derived nanovesicles (PDNVs) and mammalian cells has been explored by several investigations, underlining the capability of these natural nanovesicles to regulate several molecular pathways. Additionally, PDNVs possess biological proprieties that make them applicable against pathological conditions, such as hepatic diseases. In this study we explored the antioxidant properties of lemon-derived nanovesicles, isolated at laboratory (LNVs) and industrial scale (iLNVs) in human healthy hepatocytes (THLE-2) and in metabolic syndrome induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in the rat. Our findings demonstrate that in THLE-2 cells, LNVs and iLNVs decrease ROS production and upregulate the expression of antioxidant mediators, Nrf2 and HO-1. Furthermore, the in vivo assessment reveals that the oral administration of iLNVs improves glucose tolerance and lipid dysmetabolism, ameliorates biometric parameters and systemic redox homeostasis, and upregulates Nrf2/HO-1 signaling in HFD rat liver. Consequently, we believe LNVs/iLNVs might be a promising approach for managing hepatic and dysmetabolic disorders.

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Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported. The authors S.R., A.C., and R.A. are cofounders of Navhetec, an Academic Spin-Off of the University of Palermo that only provides the nanovesicle extracts but that did not have any role in the conceptualization of this article and the analysis of the results. The same authors are inventors of the Italian patents 102019000005090 and 102015902344749.