Influence of the Phytosynthesis of Noble Metal Nanoparticles on the Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Effects of Aconitum toxicum Reichenb. Leaves Alcoholic Extract

Abstract

Green nanoparticles are currently thoroughly researched due to the multiple advantages of phytosynthesis, on the one hand, and the potential beneficial or adverse effects, on the other. In this context, our study investigates the potential for the phytosynthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles of the ethanol and methanol extracts from leaves of Aconitum toxicum Rchb., as well as the enhancement of the antioxidant potential and the influence on the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of the extracts through the action of the synthesized nanoparticles. The nanoparticles obtained were characterized using analytical techniques as UV–Visible spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, electron microscopy (SEM and STEM). The HPLC analysis of extracts revealed that the methanol extracts contained a higher aconitine level. The alcoholic extracts from leaves of A. toxicum Rchb. exerted mitodepressive effect and the phytomediated synthesis of Ag and Au nanoparticles diminished mitoinhibitory effect of the extracts, dependent on nanoparticles size and type. The mitostimulatory potential of the extracts supplemented with Ag nanoparticles was higher compared with that of the extracts with Au nanoparticles. In general, an influence of the extract composition on both the phytosynthesized nanoparticles and on the evaluated properties was observed, the ethanolic extract leading to gold nanoparticles with smaller dimension, while the silver nanoparticles had similar dimensions for both extracts studied. In the same time, the antioxidant properties of the extracts increased with the phytosynthesis process, a higher increase being observed upon the phytosynthesis of the silver nanoparticles (17% increase for the ethanolic extract and, respectively, 12% for the methanolic extract).