Vitamin D is important for bone health and helps prevent diseases such as rickets in children and osteomalacia or osteoporosis in adult. In addition, vitamin D has many non-bone functions in the body, such as regulating calcium and phosphorous absorption and facilitating normal immune system function. The activity starts with the binding to the Vitamin D receptor (VDR), which is present in different tissues. Several human diseases depend on low vitamin D3 (human isoform) serum level, and supplementation is necessary. However, vitamin D3 has poor bioavailability, and several strategies are tested to increase its absorption.
The research group of Francesco Trotta (UNITO, Italy) has studied the complexation of vitamin D3 in Cyclodextrin-based nanosponge (in particular, βNS-CDI 1:4) as a way to enhance its bioactivity. The βNS-CDI 1:4 was synthesized by mechanochemistry, and the complex was confirmed using FTIR-ATR and TGA. TGA demonstrated higher thermostability of the complexed form. Subsequently, in vitro experiments were performed to evaluate the biological activity of Vitamin D3 complexed in the nanosponges on intestinal cells and assess its bioavailability without cytotoxic effect.
The Vitamin D3 complexes enhance cellular activity at the intestinal level and improve its bioavailability. In conclusion, this study demonstrates for the first time the ability of CD-NS complexes to improve the chemical and biological function of Vitamin D3.
Uberti, F.; Trotta, F.; Pagliaro, P.; Bisericaru, D.M.; Cavalli, R.; Ferrari, S.; Penna, C.; Matencio, A. Developing New Cyclodextrin-Based Nanosponges Complexes to Improve Vitamin D Absorption in an In Vitro Study. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 5322. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065322