Encapsulation of tagitinin C in liposomes coated by Tithonia diversifolia pectin

Tagitinin C, a sesquiterpene lactone compound from Tithonia diversifolia, is known to have various bioactivities including anticancer effects. The disadvantages of tagitinin C which make its therapeutic application limited are low water solubility and poor stability. In this work, we encapsulated tagitinin C in the form of liposomal nanoparticles to overcome its limitations and evaluated its anticancer activity. Liposomes were prepared using phosphatidylcholine, tween 80 and with/without T. diversifolia pectin. Tagitinin C liposomes exhibited small sizes, a range of 252-311 nm, and negative surface charges. Liposomes coated by T. diversifolia pectin resulted in a slightly slower release rate than pectin-uncoated liposomes. The cytotoxicity of tagitinin C in pectin-coated liposomes was more pronounced than that in liposomes without pectin. Tagitinin C in liposomes showed significantly increased toxicity against human lung cancer cells LU-1 in comparison with DMSO-tagitinin C. Therefore, tagitinin C liposomes demonstrate significant potential as delivery systems for cancer therapy.