Abstract：
One of the most frequent causes of respiratory infections are viruses. Viruses reaching the airways can be absorbed by the human body through the respiratory mucosa and mainly infect lung cells. Several viral infections are not yet curable, such as coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Furthermore, the side effect of synthetic antiviral drugs and reduced efficacy against resistant variants have reinforced the search for alternative and effective treatment options, such as plant-derived antiviral molecules. Curcumin (CUR) and quercetin (QUE) are two natural compounds that have been widely studied for their health benefits, such as antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity. However, poor oral bioavailability limits the clinical applications of these natural compounds. In this work, nanoemulsions (NE) co-encapsulating CUR and QUE designed for nasal administration were developed as promising prophylactic and therapeutic treatments for viral respiratory infections. The NEs were prepared by high-pressure homogenization combined with the phase inversion temperature technique and evaluated for their physical and chemical characteristics. In vitro assays were performed to evaluate the nanoemulsion retention into the porcine nasal mucosa. In addition, the CUR and QUE-loaded NE antiviral activity was tested against a murine β-COV, namely MHV-3. The results evidenced that CUR and QUE loaded NE had a particle size of 400 nm and retention in the porcine nasal mucosa. The antiviral activity of the NEs showed a percentage of inhibition of around 99 %, indicating that the developed NEs has interesting properties as a therapeutic and prophylactic treatment against viral respiratory infections.
摘要：
呼吸道感染的最常见原因之一是病毒。到达气道的病毒可通过呼吸道粘膜被人体吸收，主要感染肺细胞。几种病毒感染尚未治愈，如冠状病毒-2（SARS-CoV-2）。此外，合成抗病毒药物的副作用和对耐药变体的疗效降低加强了对替代和有效治疗方案的寻找，如植物来源的抗病毒分子。姜黄素（CUR）和槲皮素（QUE）是两种天然化合物，因其健康益处而被广泛研究，如抗病毒和抗炎活性。然而,较差的口服生物利用度限制了这些天然化合物的临床应用。在这项工作中,纳米乳剂(NE)共封装设计用于鼻给药的CUR和QUE被开发为有希望的预防性和治疗性治疗病毒性呼吸道感染。通过高压均质化结合相转化温度技术制备了NEs，并评估了其物理和化学特性。进行体外测定以评估纳米乳液在猪鼻粘膜中的保留。此外,针对鼠β-COV测试了CUR和QUE负载的NE抗病毒活性，即MHV-3。结果表明，CUR和QUE负载的NE的粒径为400nm，并保留在猪鼻粘膜中。NEs的抗病毒活性显示出大约99%的抑制百分比,表明开发的NEs具有有趣的特性，可作为针对病毒性呼吸道感染的治疗性和预防性治疗。
