Evaluation of the Anticancer Activity of Phytomolecules Conjugated Gold Nanoparticles Synthesized by Aqueous Extracts of Zingiber officinale (Ginger) and Nigella sativa L. Seeds (Black Cumin).

Alaa H Alkhathlan,Merajuddin Khan,Musaed Alkholief,Aws Alshamsan,Norah Albekairi,M Rafiq H Siddiqui,Mujeeb Khan,Hamad Z Alkhathlan,Hessah A Al-Abdulkarim,Aliyah Almomen

doi:10.3390/ma14123368

Abstract

The conventional physical and chemical synthetic methods for the preparation of metal nanoparticles have disadvantages as they use expensive equipment and hazardous chemicals which limit their applications for biomedical purposes, and are not environment friendly. However, for the synthesis of biocompatible nanomaterials, plant-based techniques are eco-friendly and easy to handle. Herein a simple, single-step biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles using aqueous extracts of Nigella sativa (NSE) and Zingiber officinale (GE) as a reducing and capping agent has been demonstrated. The formation of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis, and EDS spectroscopies. Spectroscopic and chromatographic analysis of GE and NSE revealed the presence of bioactive phytochemical constituents, such as gingerol, thymoquinone, etc., which successfully conjugated the surface of resulting Au NPs. TEM analysis indicated the formation of smaller-sized, less-aggregated, spherical-shaped Au NPs both in the case of GE (~9 nm) and NSE (~11 nm). To study the effect of the concentration of the extracts on the quality of resulting NPs and their anticancer properties, three different samples of Au NPs were prepared from each extract by varying the concentration of extracts while keeping the amount of precursor constant. In both cases, high-quality, spherical-shaped NPs were obtained, only at a high concentration of the extract, whereas at lower concentrations, larger-sized, irregular-shaped NPs were formed. Furthermore, the as-prepared Au NPs were evaluated for the anticancer properties against two different cell lines including MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer) and HCT 116 (colorectal cancer) cell lines. GE-conjugated Au NPs obtained by using a high concentration of the extract demonstrated superior anticancer properties when compared to NSE-conjugated counterparts.

Highlights

Cancer is one of the major causes of death in the world, and according to WHO, the number of cancer patients will continue to increase at a higher pace, which may cause millions of deaths per year [1,2]
Three more samples were prepared by using different concentrations of ginger extract (GE), and these samples are named as GE-Au-1 (5 mL), GE-Au-2 (10 mL), and GE-Au-2 (20 mL)
In the case of honey-mediated synthesis of Au NPs, with the increasing concentration of honey, the UV peaks gradually changed from a broad peak at a lower wavelength to a sharp band at a higher wavelength which is associated with the formation of spherical-shaped gold nanoparticles [53]

Summary

Introduction

Cancer is one of the major causes of death in the world, and according to WHO, the number of cancer patients will continue to increase at a higher pace, which may cause millions of deaths per year [1,2]. The majority of these cytotoxic agents are known to cause severe side effects, and their inappropriate use can potentially develop multidrug resistance (MDR) [7,8,9]. To deal with these problems, the development of novel antitumor agents based on various biologically active constituents such as natural dietary compounds, plant extracts, nanomaterials, and/or the synergistic combinations of different therapeutics have been encouraged for cancer therapy [10,11]. Extracts of a variety of plants have displayed anticancer and cytotoxic activities due to the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and other polyphenolic compounds, such as ursolic acid, oleanolic acids, kaempherol, quercetin, asmatrine, etc., which mostly exerted cytotoxic activities by inhibiting cancer cell growth [15]

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Results

Conclusion