OICC Press International Journal of Nano Dimension 2228-5059 15 1 (January 2024) 2024 02 20 Effect of niosomes containing saponin on hippocampus tissue damage in animal model of stroke 10.22034/ijnd.2023.1994434.2247 EN Elmira Shiri PhD student in animal physiology, Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. 0000-0002-6444-8117 Akram Eidi Professor, Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. 0000-0002-6673-5347 Mohammad Reza Bigdeli Associate Professor, Department of Animal Sciences and Marine Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. 0000-0003-4331-1047 Seyed Pejman Mortazavi Associate Professor, Department of Veterinary, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. 0000-0002-2795-5371 Journal Article 2024 02 20 Cerebral ischemia is one reason for death and loss of movement ability of people, which imposes a large and significant cost on the global health system. Niosomes, as useful tools, can increase drug delivery to the brain. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of niosomes containing saponin (NS) on stroke- induced damage in the hippocampus of an animal model. The physicochemical characteristics of nanocarriers, such as zeta potential, size, and release test were investigated after the fabrication of thin film method. In this study, Wistar rats were divided into five experimental groups including sham group, stroke group, stroke group with empty niosome injection, stroke group with saponin injection, and stroke group with niosome saponin injection. The study examined various aspects of ischemia including stroke volume, blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage, neurological defects, levels of inflammatory cytokines, and cellular damage in the hippocampus. The findings indicate that NS, with a size of 85.92nm, zeta potential of -34.7 mv, and an entrapment efficiency (EE%) of  85.70% effectively reduced stroke volume, cerebral edema, BBB damage, expression level of TNF-α, and NF-kB genes and inflammation in hippocampal cells. Additionally, NS improved sensory and motor performance in rats. These results demonstrate that NS can mitigate stroke-induced damage in the hippocampus of the rat model by effectively crossing the BBB.