Facile synthesis of xanthan gum-based sheets loaded with ganoderic acid F for evaluation of therapeutic potential, molecular docking, and ADMET profiling.

In the present work, ganoderic acid F (GAF) was loaded in xanthan gum (XG) to synthesize novel XG-GAF sheets. It was analyzed using XRD, FTIR, SEM, HR-TEM, TGA, particle size, and zeta potential. XRD analysis revealed an amorphous nature, while SEM and HR-TEM observed their sheet-like morphology. Particle size and zeta potential studies showed that the particles were 870 nm, with good colloidal stability (-42.5 mV). The encapsulation efficiency of XG-GAF sheets was 95.1 ± 1.2%, and the drug loading was 8.3 ± 0.4%. XG-GAF fit the Korsmeyer-Peppas model with Fickian (pH 5.4) and non-Fickian (pH 7.4) diffusion mechanisms most effectively. The XG-GAF sheets demonstrated strong antioxidant activity of 79.17 ± 0.8% and 73.32 ± 1.2% in the metal chelating and DPPH assays. The anti-inflammatory and lipid peroxidation activity demonstrated effective inhibitory percentages, and it demonstrated significant cytotoxicity on 3T3-L1 and A549 cells, with IC values of 70.16 ± 1.8 and 9.50 ± 1.2 μg/mL, respectively. Molecular docking and ADMET studies suggested GAF as a possible therapeutic option due to their potent binding affinities with target proteins and drug-likeness profiles. The innovation of this work lies in incorporating GAF into an XG matrix, offering significant potential for biomedical applications.