ANTICANCER ACTIVITY OF SILVER NANOBIOCONJUGATES SYNTHESISED FROM PIPER BETLE LEAVES EXTRACT AND ITS ACTIVE COMPOUND EUGENOL

Abstract

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Our present study deals with the anticancer property of silver nano bio conjugates synthesized from the methanolic extract of <em>Piper betle</em> leaves and the pure compound eugenol.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The anticancer activity of the nano bio conjugates synthesized from the extract and pure compound, in comparison with their respective non-conjugated raw material, were studied using cancer cell lines. The anticancer activity was analyzed by cell viability and staining techniques. The cell viability was determined by the MTT assay and the apoptosis was evaluated by the AO/EtBr staining method, which was carried out in both the cancerous (oral carcinoma (KB) cell lines) and non-cancerous cells (primary cultured human buccal cells). The phase of cell death was assessed by the flow cytometry followed by the cytotoxicity assessment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results revealed that <em>Piper</em> <em>betle</em> leaves as well as their active phenolic compound eugenol exhibited strong anticancer activity in KB oral carcinoma cells. The anticancer effect of the extract was attributable to the component phenolics, eugenol respectively in betel leaves, as the phenolics also exhibited strong cytotoxicity in cancer cells. The anticancer activity increased by a marked magnitude when the extract/compound was administered as nano-bio conjugates. The significant observation was the differential effect evoked by the AgNPs, which was non-toxic to non-cancerous buccal cells while evoking a strong cytotoxicity in the cancer cells.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results proved that the phytoconstituents like phenols in the betel leaves play a major role in the reduction of nano bio conjugates. The anticancer properties of silver nano bio conjugates were higher in the conjugated nanoform than the non-conjugated form.</p>