Phyto- and biochemical study on cape gooseberry (physalis peruviana L.) extract incorporated with metal nanoparticles against hepatic injury induced in rats.

The study aimed to investigate the role of metal nanoparticles (M-NPs) in improving the efficiency of Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry) juice, which is rich in numerous important therapeutic phytochemicals. Therefore, it was subsequently studied against chemically-induced toxicity in rats. The present study demonstrated that C. gooseberry juice was used for the biosynthesis of silver (Ag-NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). The ZnO-C. gooseberry nano-extract exhibited higher in vitro biological activities compared to the other extracts. It was also found to be safer when administered orally. Moreover, it demonstrated a greater ameliorative effect against hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. It restored the integrity of the liver tissue by increasing levels of antioxidant enzymes and reducing the inflammatory markers significantly (p ≤ 0.05). The study found that the ZnO-C. gooseberry nano-extract demonstrated greater efficacy in combating CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity compared to the other extracts.

In Vitro Study on Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on the Biological Activities of Croton tiglium L. Seeds Extracts.

OBJECTIVE: Croton tiglium L. seeds were studied against colon cancer induced chemically in rats after incorporating silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) but the body has no the ability to discrete silver or silver ions. Therefore, the present study was designed to reveal the biological activities of different C. tiglium L. seeds extracts incorporated with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). RESULTS: It was found that C. tiglium L. seeds provided with high contents of total protein (27.43 g/100g), carbohydrate (18.29 g/100 g) and lipid (46.31 g/100 g). The chromatographic techniques revealed that concentrations of the predominant compounds increased in all studied extracts (ethanolic, aqueous and petroleum ether) after incorporating ZnO-NPs. The in vitro biological activities showed that the aqueous extract possessed the highest antioxidant and scavenging activities. It exhibited the highest inhibitory effect on α-amylase (41.89%) and acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) (23.00%) in addition to its higher anti-arthritic activity. All the biological activities increased after incorporating ZnO-NPs. It showed the highest cytotoxic activity that increased after incorporating ZnO-NPs against human colon carcinoma (CACO-2) cells. Therefore, this extract was selected for undergoing further studies on CACO-2 cells. The aqueous extract incorporated with ZnO-NPs arrested growth of CACO-2 cells at G2/M and increased percentage of total apoptotic cells and necrosis. The median lethal dose (LD50) showed that the extracts incorporated with ZnO-NPs were safer than the native extracts. CONCLUSION: The study showed that the aqueous extract was the most active extract that consequently exhibited promising biological activities after incorporating ZnO-NPs.

Assessment of the Biological Activities of Egyptian Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) Extract after Incorporating Metal Nanoparticles, in Vitro and in Vivo Study.

OBJECTIVE: Egyptian Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and a wide range of vitamins and phyto-constituents that were absorbed slowly due to their high molecular weights. Therefore, this study was designed to accelerate the absorption of these phyto-constituents and hence increase their bioavailability by incorporating silver (Ag-NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) due to their impressive properties. METHODS: The major phyto-constituents and different biological activities were quantified in aqueous extract before and after incorporating metal nanoparticles (M-NPs). The efficiency of ZnO-P. nano-extract was studied on cell cycle and apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HEPG-2) cells. Then, both Ag- and ZnO-P. nano-extracts were studied against hepatic fibrosis induced by thioacetamide (TAA) in rats through undergoing different hematological and biochemical measurements in addition to the histopathological examination in hepatic tissues compared to the extract itself. RESULTS: The ZnO-P. nano-extract showed significantly (P<0.05) higher antioxidant and scavenging activity due to the existence of higher total polyphenolic content. Also, it exhibited a significantly (P<0.05) higher inhibitory effect on acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) activity and higher cytotoxic activity against HEPG-2 cells. Therefore, ZnO-P. nano-extract was studied against the cell cycle and apoptosis of HEPG-2 cells compared to the extract itself. It was found that ZnO-P. nano-extract was safer than Ag-P. nano-extract. Both Ag- and ZnO- P. nano-extracts were studied against the hepatic fibrosis induced by thioacetamide (TAA) compared to the native extract. It was noticed that ZnO-P. nano-extract exhibited an ameliorative effect against hepatic fibrosis by decreasing levels of inflammatory and fibrotic markers significantly (P<0.05) more than Ag-P. nano-extract. Furthermore, it improved the antioxidant status of the hepatic tissue in addition to restoring the histopathological architecture of liver tissue. CONCLUSION: ZnO-P. nano-extract showed higher in vitro and in vivo biological activities than Ag-P. nano-extract and native P. extract itself.