Preparation and formulation of Ag NPs for the anticancer activities and its protective effects on cardiac function, heart rate variability, and cardiac mitochondria in obese insulin-resistant rats

Abstract

Panax ginseng as an ethnomedicinal plant has many therapeutic effects in the traditional medicine. This medicinal plant, having antioxidant substances, can protect body cells from various damages and prevent cancer. Also, folic acid in this plant helps the body to produce new cells and reduces the possibility of heart disease and colon cancer. In the recent years, the silver nanoparticles green-mediated by ethno medicinal plants have been used for the treatment of several kinds of cancers and heart disease. Now, we investigated the silver nanoparticles green-synthesized according to green chemistry rules using the aqueous extract of Panax ginseng leaf for the treatment of lung carcinoma and protective effects on cardiac function, heart rate variability, and cardiac mitochondria in obese insulin-resistant rats. The green-synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized using different techniques such as FE-SEM, UV–Vis, XRD, and TEM. The FE-SEM and TEM results confirm spherical morphology for the nanoparticles with size of 12.11 to 43.33 nm. The IC50 of the silver nanoparticles was 311, 293, 375, and 250 against EKVX, HOP-62, A549 and NCI-H460, respectively. In the in vivo part of this study, after treating 12 weeks with high-fat-diet, then 28 days with Ag NPs (20 and 40 µg/kg/day, respectively), the metabolic parameters, heart rate variability (HRV), cardiac function, and cardiac mitochondrial function were determined. Silver nanoparticles at both concentrations significantly decreased the plasma insulin, total cholesterol, homeostasis model assessment index, and oxidative stress levels and restored the HRV, cardiac function, and cardiac mitochondrial function. We concluded that silver nanoparticles at both concentrations exerted cardioprotective effects against mitochondrial dysfunction and cardiac dysfunction in obese insulin-resistant rats.