Thymoquinone incorporated chitosan-sodium alginate/psyllium husk derived biopolymeric composite films: A comparative antibacterial and anticancer profile

The fabrication of biopolymeric film containing natural therapeutics envisioned to develop edible, nontoxic and biodegradable composite using polymers. Our study focused on extraction of psyllium husk mucilage, a medicinally acknowledged natural polysaccharide and develop a proper composite with chitosan. We combined chitosan with both alginate and husk mucilage separately to prepare two composite films. Drug release dynamics from the complex polymeric networks was evaluated where polymeric films showed sustained release of thy-moquinone, a water-insoluble phytocomponent. Structural and physico-chemical properties of the films were confirmed by FTIR, XRD, FESEM, TGA analysis. Significant antimicrobial activities against both bacterial strains and strong anticancer activities against human prostate cancer cell line (PC3) and adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cell line (A549) was observed. This biodegradable polymer combination suggests to-wards the possibility of potential applications for the food industry and variety of biomedical applications such as wound dressing, tissue scaffolding etc.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the development of edible, nontoxic, and biodegradable composite films containing natural therapeutics, using polymers. The extraction of psyllium husk mucilage, a natural polysaccharide, and its combination with chitosan to create composite films were investigated. The polymeric films exhibited sustained release of thy-moquinone and demonstrated significant antimicrobial and anticancer activities.