Sesquiterpenoids from Tussilago farfara Flower Bud Extract for the Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles Possessing Antibacterial and Anticancer Activities.

Kwangho Song,You Jeong Lee,Youmie Park,Yeong Shik Kim,Seonho Cho,Song-Hyun Cha

doi:10.3390/nano9060819

Kwangho Song, You Jeong Lee + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9060819

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Abstract

Sesquiterpenoids from the flower bud extract of Tussilago farfara were effectively utilized as a reducing agent for eco-friendly synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles. The silver and gold nanoparticles had a characteristic surface plasmon resonance at 416 nm and 538 nm, respectively. Microscopic images revealed that both nanoparticles were spherical, and their size was measured to be 13.57 ± 3.26 nm for the silver nanoparticles and 18.20 ± 4.11 nm for the gold nanoparticles. The crystal structure was determined to be face-centered cubic by X-ray diffraction. Colloidal stability of the nanoparticle solution was retained in a full medium, which was used in the cell culture experiment. The antibacterial activity result demonstrated that the silver nanoparticles showed better activity (two- to four-fold enhancement) than the extract alone on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Interestingly, the highest antibacterial activity was obtained against vancomycin-resistant Enterococci Van-A type Enterococcus faecium. Cytotoxicity on cancer cell lines confirmed that gold nanoparticles were more cytotoxic than silver nanoparticles. The highest cytotoxicity was observed on human pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma cells. Therefore, both nanoparticles synthesized with the sesquiterpenoids from T. farfara flower bud extract can be applicable as drug delivery vehicles of anticancer or antibacterial agents for future nanomedicine applications.

Highlights

Both silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have attracted the attention of researchers owing to their various applications as antimicrobial agents, drug delivery vehicles for cancer and other disease treatments, chemical/biological sensors, and catalysts [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The chemical structures of three major sesquiterpenoids from T. farfara flower bud extract were reported in the previous report; tussilagone, 14-acetoxy-7β-(3 -ethyl cis-crotonoyloxy)-1α-(2 -methylburyryloxy)-notonipetranone, and 7β-(3 -ethyl cis-crotonoyloxy)-1α-(2 -methylburyryloxy)-3,14-dehydro-Z-notonipetranone [42]
These sesquiterpenoids were enriched by counter-current chromatography according to the previous report [42]

Summary

Introduction

Both silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have attracted the attention of researchers owing to their various applications as antimicrobial agents, drug delivery vehicles for cancer and other disease treatments, chemical/biological sensors, and catalysts [1,2,3,4,5,6]. It has been reported that AgNPs possess antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria [7,8]. The high surface area-to-volume ratio and characteristic physicochemical properties contribute to the excellent antibacterial activity of AgNPs. Recently, the emergence of antibiotic resistance has been increasing due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. There is a need for the development of antibacterial agents with more efficacy, less toxicity, and more cost-effectiveness for the treatment of MDR infections. Factors affecting the antibacterial activity of AgNPs include size, shape, concentration, and dose [9]. AgNPs have been reported as antibacterial agents against the following MDR strains: vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus, ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli, erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes, and methicillin-resistant S. epidermis [9]. Surfactant- or polymer-modified AgNPs were effective against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) when compared with unmodified AgNPs [10]

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