Mota, Ana HenriquesDuarte, NoéliaSerra, Ana TeresaFerreira, AntónioBronze, Maria RosárioCustódio, LuísaGaspar, Maria ManuelaSimões, SandraRijo, PatríciaAscensão, LiaFaísca, PedroViana, Ana SilveiraPinto, RuiKumar, PradeepAlmeida, António JoséReis, Catarina Pinto2021-01-142021-01-142020-12-04Pharmaceutics 12 (12): 1181 (2020)doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics121211811999-4923http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/14961<i>Sambucus nigra</i> L. is widely used in traditional medicine with different applications. However, confirmative studies are strongly required. This study aimed to assess the biological activities of the <i>S. nigra</i> flower’s extract encapsulated into two different types of nanoparticles for optimizing its properties and producing further evidence of its potential therapeutic uses. Different nanoparticles (poly(lactide-co-glycolide, PLGA) and poly-Ɛ-caprolactone (PCL), both with oleic acid, were prepared by emulsification/solvent diffusion and solvent-displacement methods, respectively. Oleic acid was used as a capping agent. After the nanoparticles’ preparation, they were characterized and the biological activities were studied in terms of collagenase, in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory, and in vitro cell viability. Rutin and naringenin were found to be the major phenolic compounds in the studied extract. The encapsulation efficiency was higher than 76% and revealed to have an impact on the release of the extract, mainly for the PLGA. Moreover, biochemical and histopathological analyses confirmed that the extract-loaded PLGA-based nanoparticles displayed the highest anti-inflammatory activity. In addition to supporting the previously reported evidence of potential therapeutic uses of <i>S. nigra</i>, these results could draw the pharmaceutical industry’s interest to the novelty of the nanoproducts.engSambucus nigra LNanoparticlesAnti-inflammatory activityCollagenase inhibitionSafety assessmentFurther evidence of possible therapeutic uses of Sambucus nigra L. extracts by the assessment of the In Vitro and In Vivo anti-inflammatory properties of Its PLGA and PCL-Based Nanoformulationsjournal article2021-01-0810.3390/pharmaceutics12121181