Preparation, chemical characterization and determination of the antioxidant, cytotoxicity and therapeutic effects of gold nanoparticles green-synthesized by Calendula officinalis flower extract in diabetes-induced cardiac dysfunction in rat

Abstract

• Preparation of mono-dispersed gold nanoparticles using the aqueous extract of Calendula officinalis. • Calendula officinalis acted as reducing and stabilizing agent. • COE@AuNPs shown good antioxidant properties. • The results shown therapeutic effects of COE@AuNPs on diabetes-induced cardiac dysfunction in rat. An ultrasound promoted bio-inspired synthesis of mono-dispersed Au nanoparticles (NPs) has been adopted in this article, templated over Calendula officinalis flower extract. The phytochemicals therein were explored as natural and green reducing as well as NP stabilizers. The as-synthesized bio-nanomaterial (COE@AuNPs) was characterized over FT-IR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, TEM, FE-SEM, EDX and XRD studies. Due to plant extract-based synthesis, the material was obtained as highly dispersed, semi-spherical particles of minuscule dimension (20–25 nm). In the in vivo condition, diabetes was induced by a fructose-enriched diet supplemented by streptozotocin. Half of the animals received COE@AuNPs by oral gavage. Compared to the animals receiving standard chow, serum fasting glucose level was increased and glucose tolerance was diminished in diabetic rats. COE@AuNPs affect significantly fasting hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance; also, it attenuated the diabetes-induced deterioration of cardiac output and cardiac work. Moreover, COE@AuNPs prevented the diabetes-induced increase in cardiac STAT3 phosphorylation. The results of this study indicated the therapeutic effects of COE@AuNPs the diabetes-induced cardiac dysfunction in rat.