Abstract
Plant-derived vesicles (PDVs) are lipid-membrane structures that enclose proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and metabolites, reflecting the phytochemical profile of their plant source. This study investigated PDVs from Rosmarinus officinalis leaves (RVs) and Coffea arabica powder (CVs), isolated using a patented method. A multidisciplinary and multi-omic approach was employed to characterize their physico-chemical properties, metabolic and lipid profiles, and in vitro biological activities using fibroblasts (BJ-T5A) and myotubes (C2C12). RVs yield showed a higher vesicles concentration, with 1.37 × 1012 nanovesicle/mL, compared to 1.74 × 1010 nanovesicles/mL for CVs. RVs were found to be rich in diterpenes, flavonoids, and free fatty acids, while CVs contained chlorogenic and phenolic acids with higher lipid diversity, mainly diacylglycerols. Both RVs and CVs exhibited a defined morphology and showed strong antioxidant activity, reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) production in both cell models. Additionally, they enhanced collagen production and secretion in fibroblasts and positively modulated molecular targets related to fatty acid synthesis and glucose transport in myotubes. These findings support the potential of PDVs as natural delivery systems with beneficial properties in muscle health and tissue function.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge UNITECH OMICs, mass spectrometry platform of Università degli Studi di Milano, for running mass spectrometry analyses. We are indebted to Carlo Sirtori Foundation (Milan, Italy) for having provided part of equipment used in this experimentation. The method described in this paper, which includes RVs and CVs isolation, purification and stabilization is referenced in the patent WO 2024/223549 A1 (Method for the production of plant-derived nanovesicles and their applications) and licensed to Plantech srl (Italy).
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Conceptualization C.L.; methodology L.d’A., G.A., U.M., G.F., G.A., M.F., C.B.; formal analysis L.d’A., G.A., M.F., C.B., M.S.M; resources C.L.; data curation: L.d’A., G.A., M.F., C.B.; supervision: C.L. writing L.d’A., G.A., C.L.—original draft preparation and review. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Patent WO 2024/223549 A1 (‘Method for the production of plant-derived nanovesicles and their applications’), which is directly related to the content of this publication, is owned by Università degli Studi di Milano. The patent has been licensed to Plantech s.r.l., a start-up of which C.L. is a scientific director and co-founder.
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d’Adduzio, L., Aiello, G., Musazzi, U. et al. From rosemary and coffee to bioactive nanovesicles: exploring new frontiers in food functional ingredients. npj Sci Food (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00723-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00723-9
