Biogenic Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Catharanthus roseus and Its Cytotoxicity Effect on Vero Cell Lines.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is a chronic and sometimes fatal condition which affects people all over the world. Nanotherapeutics have shown tremendous potential to combat chronic diseases­including DM2­as they enhance the overall impact of drugs on biological systems. Greenly synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from Catharanthus roseus methanolic extract (C. AgNPs) were examined primarily for their cytotoxic and antidiabetic effects. Methods: Characterization of C. AgNPs was performed by UV−vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The C. AgNPs were trialed on Vero cell line and afterwards on an animal model (rats). Results: The C. AgNPs showed standard structural and functional characterization as revealed by FTIR and XRD analyses. The zetapotential analysis indicated stability while EDX analysis confirmed the formation of composite capping with Ag metal. The cytotoxic effect (IC50) of C. AgNPs on Vero cell lines was found to be 568 g/mL. The animal model analyses further revealed a significant difference in water intake, food intake, body weight, urine volume, and urine sugar of tested rats after treatment with aqueous extract of C. AgNPs. Moreover, five groups of rats including control and diabetic groups (NC1, PC2, DG1, DG2, and DG3) were investigated for their blood glucose and glycemic control analysis. Conclusions: The C. AgNPs exhibited positive potential on the Vero cell line as well as on experimental rats. The lipid profile in all the diabetic groups (DG1-3) were significantly increased compared with both of the control groups (p < 0.05). The present study revealed the significance of C. AgNPs in nanotherapeutics.

Screening and characterization of selected drugs having antibacterial potential.

Due to ever increasing antibiotic resistance offered by pathogenic bacterial strains and side effects of synthetic antibiotics, thereof, there is a need to explore the effective phytochemicals from natural resources. In order to help overcoming the problem of effective natural drug and the side effects posed by the use of the synthetic drugs, five different plants namely Thymus vulgaris, Lavandula angustifolia, Rosmarinus officinalis, Cymbopogon citratus and Achillea millefolium were selected to study their antibacterial potential. Antibacterial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) checked against the selected bacterial strains. As compared to other test plants, ethanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis leaves showed the most promising inhibitory effect i.e: inhibition zone (18.17± 0.44mm) against Klebsiella pneumoniae and the lowest inhibition (15.5±0.29mm) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli (p<0.05). The MIC values were recorded in the range of 1 to 20mg/ml. Screening of the selected extracts for the test plants additionally indicate some unique variations. Results were further confirmed through TLC for alkaloids and terpenoids (15% sulphuric acid and Dragedroff's reagent) in ethanolic extract. Characterization of Rosmarinus officinalis of ethanolic extract was carried out using column chromatography. The appearance of orange crystals may indicate the presence of alkaloidal bioactive compounds which need to be further investigated. The tested plants may have a potential for fighting against some infectious diseases caused by selected human pathogenic bacterial strains. This knowledge may incite a gateway to effective drug search and so on.