Camellia sinensis mediated synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles and applications to control Gram-negative ESBL producing antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens

Abstract

Camellia sinensis (tea), has numerous pharmacotherapeutic benefits. The majority of its phytocompounds exhibit antibacterial properties, which are effective in treating a range of bacterial diseases, including Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). In-silico research examined the ability of the major C. sinensis phytocompounds to inhibit bacterial enzymes. Molecular docking was performed to explore the efficiency of tea phytoconstituents by evaluating their binding affinity and existence of different interactions between the bacterial proteins/enzymes and the tea phytoconstituents, to inhibit key enzymes associated with bacterial infections. Camellia sinensis silver nanoparticles (CsAgNps) were synthesized by using the biogenesis method, which comes under the bottom-up approach. The characterization results confirmed the charge, size and shape of the synthesized CsAgNps. Characterization data revealed the existence of functional groups which are responsible for the stability and effectivity of the nanoparticles. Toxicity studies were carried out to determine its safety at various dosage levels. In in vitro condition, CsAgNps synthesized from fresh tea leaves extract showed antibacterial properties even against antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). In-vitro studies of this biosynthesized CsAgNps confirmed the bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties by using agar well diffusion, MIC and MBC methods at various concentrations of the synthesized CsAgNps. This proved that CsAgNps can inhibit bacterial growth against these three Gram-negative extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producers and hence it can serve as an alternative to antibiotics.