Background: Iron overload is a condition where iron excess in our body due to increased intake or disruption of the excretion process. Thalassemia is one of the causes of iron overload, especially transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT). TDT can cause iron overload and iron accumulation in several organs, including the spleen. Therefore, the patients also need iron chelator to excrete excessive iron. The previous study shows mangiferin could act as an iron chelator but has low bioavailability. Therefore, we conducted this experimental study to compare mangiferin and mangiferin in chitosan-nanoparticle as an iron chelator.

Methods: Spleens from 5 groups treated rats were collected; normal, iron overload as negative control, iron overload with mangiferin 50 mg/kgBW, iron overload with mangiferin in chitosan-nanoparticle 50 mg/kgBW and 25 mg/kgBW. Iron concentration in the spleen was measured by using atomic absorbance spectrophotometer (AAS) at 248,3 nm of wavelength.

Results: Spleen iron level on negative control group were 853.81±184.533 mcg/mL, whereas  with mangiferin 50 mg/kgBW, mangiferin in chitosan-nanoparticle 50 and 25 mg/kgBW were 1137.04±192.634, 763.63±330.145, and 684.21±616.913 mcg/mL. There was no significant different between negative control vs mangiferin nor mangiferin in chitosan nanoparticle groups. There was a significant difference on iron level in spleen between mangiferin 50 mg/kgBW and mangiferin in chitosan-nanoparticle 25 mg/kgBW (p=0.03).

Conclusion: In our model, mangiferin in chitosan-nanoparticle 25 mg/kgBW reduce iron accumulation in spleen and significantly different with mangiferin 50 mg/kgBW.

Keywords: mangiferin, chitosan-alginat nanoparticles, iron overload, spleen iron concentration