A new international study led by HonorHealth Research Institute proposes that vesicles derived from olives could be the basis of a new drug delivery system that could be less toxic and better targeted to a patient’s disease

The new treatment would not require refrigeration and is relatively inexpensive, derived using waste from agricultural olive processing, according to a press release.

These lipid-based membranes, known as nanoscale extracellular vesicles or nanovesicles, would deliver drugs in tiny packages to patients, according to the study. It concluded that these findings suggest that olive‐derived nanovesicles represent a promising candidate as drug nanocarriers for various drug delivery system clinical applications.

Dr. Frederic Zenhausern,  a senior investigator at HonorHealth Research Institute, said in the release that the potential benefit is a better drug. 

“Synthetic Lipid Nanoparticles, like the ones used in the COVID-19 vaccines, require cumbersome low-temperature refrigeration storage, while plant lipid vesicles can be used as drug carriers without the necessity of special shelf-life conditions, which can significantly improve healthcare access and delivery while reducing costs,” Zenhausern said.                                

Plant-based nanovesicles are seen as easier to engineer with more humanly compatible membranes than animal-derived extracellular vesicles, according to the release. 

These features enable more precise targeting of cancer tumors and improved bioavailability with less immunogenic side effects suitable for transporting a variety of therapeutics.

Researchers screened a variety of edible plants, but ultimately, the team settled on olives, which are economical, less likely to elicit an adverse immune response in patients, and because of their use in the cosmetic industry, according to Zenhausern.

Among the first applications could be in the delivery of anti-cancer drugs, such as the small-molecule doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic drug used to fight breast cancer, lymphoma and sarcoma. In the study, olive nanovesicles were shown to load and release doxorubicin with increased efficacy compared to traditionally unencapsulated drugs.

These nanovesicles could someday even address brain tumors because they are small enough molecules to slip through the halo of micro-capillaries that form what is known as the blood-brain barrier, the body’s natural defense against toxins reaching the brain.

“We think we have an opportunity to do a lot more fine-tuning of drug targeting with these nanovesicles, while minimizing side-effects, such as liver complications,” Zenhausern said. “We can, in fact, potentially reduce the dose to get the same effect. Or, increase the dose to have a better effect.”

Because it may be a more efficient way of delivering drugs, nanovesicles also might be used in cellular therapies for delivering RNA therapeutics or other emerging gene editing treatments that could improve treatments for patients with rare conditions, reducing the frequency and complexity of care access and delivery. 

The study team also is working with the University of Arizona’s Biosphere II where they are experimenting with growing plants using “vertical farming,” an aqua-based horticulture that allows maximum plant growth and more standardized vesicles for better quality control while minimizing cost and resources under AI-assisted controls of nutrients, light and water.

Chief Medical Officer of the HonorHealth Research Institute Dr. Michael S. Gordon said in the release that it’s exciting to see the partnership of scientists both locally and around the world, benefitted by local philanthropy, to advance novel scientific ideas.

“We plan to continue the laboratory work to demonstrate the ability of nanovesicle encapsulated drugs to improve on results in lab models of breast cancer treatment with doxorubicin,” Gordon said.

Funding for this study was provided by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the University of Montpellier and the HonorHealth Research Institute Rare Cancer Initiative supported by Desert Mountain CARE.