Development of Ginkgo biloba extract–loaded chitosan nanoparticles for antimicrobial and anti-Alzheimer’s therapy

The emergence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections is still a major global concern. The present research focuses on developing a two-pronged strategy to mitigate the disease burden using Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE). For this purpose, chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) were prepared by ionic gelation and used as a GBE carrier. The two samples of chitosan (CS) loaded with GBE are coded as 3GBE-CSNPs and 6GBE-CSNPs. It was observed that GBE-CSNPs were spherical and small. 6GBE-CSNPs also displayed the significant inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (IC 50 = 71.3 µg/mL), and at 1000 µg/mL, it was 86.0% better than the unloaded CSNPs in its anti-amyloidogenic activity. Results showed that the 6GBE-CSNPs were also cytocompatible with HEK293 at 125 µg/mL and had an IC 50 of 200.6 µg/mL. These data suggest that GBE-derived ligands have dual therapeutic potential, interacting with predicted bacterial virulence factors and specific Alzheimer’s disease targets. As such, the implementation of GBE-CSNPs, particularly the 6GBE formulation, as a potential multifunctional nanomedicine that addresses antimicrobial resistance and neurodegeneration simultaneously, underscores the relevance of using nanotherapeutics derived from natural products.