Plant-Based Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) Using Aqueous Leaf Extract of Aquilegia pubiflora: Their Antiproliferative Activity against HepG2 Cells Inducing Reactive Oxygen Species and Other In Vitro Properties

Abstract

The anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-diabetic effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) produced from aqueous leaf extract of Aquilegia pubiflora were evaluated in this study. Several methods were used to characterize ZnO-NPs, including SEM, FTIR, XRD, DLS, PL, Raman, and HPLC. The nanoparticles that had a size of 34.23 nm as well as a strong aqueous dispersion potential were highly pure, spherical or elliptical in form, and had a mean size of 34.23 nm. According to FTIR and HPLC studies, the flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were successfully capped. Synthesized ZnO-NPs in water have a zeta potential of -18.4 mV, showing that they are stable solutions. The ZnO-NPs proved to be highly toxic for the HepG2 cell line and showed a reduced cell viability of 23.68 ± 2.1 % after 24 hours of ZnO-NP treatment. ZnO-NPs also showed excellent inhibitory potential against the enzymes acetylcholinesterase (IC50: 102 μg/mL) and butyrylcholinesterase (IC50: 125 μg/mL) which are involved in Alzheimer’s disease. Overall, the enzymes involved in aging, diabetes, and inflammation showed a moderate inhibitory response to ZnO-NPs. Given these findings, these biosynthesized ZnO-NPs could be a good option for the cure of deadly diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other inflammatory diseases due to their strong anticancer potential and efficient antioxidant properties.

In Vitro Study on Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on the Biological Activities of Croton tiglium L. Seeds Extracts

“…Data of the flow cytometric analysis showed that treatment of CACO-2 cells with the native aqueous C. tiglium seeds extract or the extract incorporated with ZnO-NPs enhanced apoptosis as compared to control CACO-2 cells. This agreed with Jan et al, (2021) who postulated that ZnO-NPs showed prominent apoptosis after for 24 h treatment. The cytotoxic activity of ZnO-NPs against growth and progression of human cancer cells occurred through three primary mechanisms including breakdown of the ZnO-NPs into Zn +2 , ROS production and DNA damage.…”

“…Inhibition of this enzyme is one of the suitable ways necessary for Alzheimer treatment (Suganthy et al, 2018). It was found that incorporation of ZnO-NPs into the aqueous extract increased their inhibitory effect against α-amylase and AChE activities and this agreed with Jan et al, (2021) who emphasized that existence of ZnO-NPs in aqueous C. tiglium L. seeds extract showed higher anti-diabetic properties through suppressing α-amylase activity. This might be attributed .…”

In Vivo Analgesic, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anti-Diabetic Screening of Bacopa monnieri-Synthesized Copper Oxide Nanoparticles

“…Fresh hRBCs were used to demonstrate the biocompatibility of biogenic CuO-NPs. 80 After the individual's permission, 1 mL blood samples were obtained in EDTA tubes from healthy persons. Following the collection, the blood samples were centrifuged to isolate RBCs.…”

Light-emitting diode (LED)-directed green synthesis of silver nanoparticles and evaluation of their multifaceted clinical and biological activities

“…Compared to ZnONPs, AgNPs showed better ability to inhibit the formation of AGEs, as reported with up to 44.63% ± 1.26% and 37.13% ± 1.99% inhibition of pentosidine- and vesperlysine-like AGEs by ZnONPs, respectively. 66 Previous reports suggest that NPs interact with biomolecules differently, which is attributed to factors such as the size of NPs. 67 This fact has been reinforced by our findings that the smaller-sized and non-spherical B-DS-AgNPs inhibited the formation of AGEs the most.…”