The basic building blocks of cell membranes are phospholipids, which form a bilayer structure, with hydrophilic heads facing the aqueous environment and hydrophobic tails facing the inside of the membrane. Such an arrangement ensures the structural integrity of the cell membrane and separates the cell interior from external environment. Phospholipids also contribute to the fluidity, elasticity and permeability of membranes. If they contain unsaturated fatty acids with one or more double bonds, they are susceptible to oxidative degradation through the process of lipid peroxidation. Consequently, this leads to cell damage, which can result in the development of diseases.
Liposomes are spherical structures made of phospholipid bilayers, which in recent years have been widely used as a delivery system in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, and as tools for studying cell membranes. They can be used as model structures to monitor the antioxidant protection of antioxidants, as there is a correlation between the antioxidant activity of compounds in liposomes and in biological membranes. Lipid peroxidation in bilayers can be prevented by using lipophilic antioxidants. Flavonoids are polyphenols of plant origin that can interact with phospholipid bilayers and exhibit antioxidant activity through various mechanisms.
As part of the diploma thesis, we prepared liposomes using phospholipid 1,2-di-(4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z-docosahexaenoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine – an ester with two polyunsaturated fatty acids. We prepared liposomes without antioxidants and liposomes with different concentrations of flavonoids: quercetin, myricetin and myricitrin. We initiated oxidation and analyzed phospholipid content before and after exposure to oxygen, using an ultra-high resolution liquid chromatography method coupled to a charged aerosol detector. We found that oxidation of lipid in liposomes without antioxidant takes place quickly. The added flavonoids exhibited different levels of antioxidant protection, depending on the type of flavonoid and its concentration. Here, myricitrin showed a weak and quercetin relatively good antioxidant activity, while myricetin stood out with an extremely high efficiency of antioxidant protection.
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