Anti-Alzheimer potential, metabolomic profiling and molecular docking of green synthesized silver nanoparticles of Lampranthus coccineus and Malephora lutea aqueous extracts.

The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) using plant extracts is an eco-friendly method. It is a single step and offers several advantages such as time reducing, cost-effective and environmental non-toxic. Silver nanoparticles are a type of Noble metal nanoparticles and it has tremendous applications in the field of diagnostics, therapeutics, antimicrobial activity, anticancer and neurodegenerative diseases. In the present work, the aqueous extracts of aerial parts of Lampranthus coccineus and Malephora lutea F. Aizoaceae were successfully used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The formation of silver nanoparticles was early detected by a color change from pale yellow to reddish-brown color and was further confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM), UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX). The TEM analysis of showed spherical nanoparticles with a mean size between 12.86 nm and 28.19 nm and the UV- visible spectroscopy showed λmax of 417 nm, which confirms the presence of nanoparticles. The neuroprotective potential of SNPs was evaluated by assessing the antioxidant and cholinesterase inhibitory activity. Metabolomic profiling was performed on methanolic extracts of L. coccineus and M. lutea and resulted in the identification of 12 compounds, then docking was performed to investigate the possible interaction between the identified compounds and human acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, and glutathione transferase receptor, which are associated with the progress of Alzheimer's disease. Overall our SNPs highlighted its promising potential in terms of anticholinesterase and antioxidant activity as plant-based anti-Alzheimer drug and against oxidative stress.

Antiviral potential of green synthesized silver nanoparticles of Lampranthus coccineus and Malephora lutea.

BACKGROUND: Viral and microbial infections constitute one of the most important life-threatening problems. The emergence of new viral and bacterial infectious diseases increases the demand for new therapeutic drugs. PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to use the aqueous and hexane extracts of Lampranthus coccineus and Malephora lutea F. Aizoaceae for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles, and to investigate its possible antiviral activity. In addition to the investigation of the phytochemical composition of the crude methanolic extracts of the two plants through UPLC-MS metabolomic profiling, and it was followed by molecular docking in order to explore the chemical compounds that might contribute to the antiviral potential. METHODS: The formation of SNPs was further confirmed using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), UV-Visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The antiviral activity of the synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated using MTT assay against HSV-1, HAV-10 virus and Coxsackie B4 virus. Metabolomics profiling was performed using UPLC-MS and molecular docking was performed via Autodock4 and visualization was done using the Discovery studio. RESULTS: The early signs of SNPs synthesis were detected by a color change from yellow to reddish brown color. The TEM analysis of SNPs showed spherical nanoparticles with mean size ranges between 10.12 nm to 27.89 nm, and 8.91 nm 14.48 nm for Lampranthus coccineus and Malephora lutea aqueous and hexane extracts respectively. The UV-Visible spectrophotometric analysis showed an absorption peak at λmax of 417 nm.The green synthesized SNPs of L. coccineus and M. lutea showed remarkable antiviral activity against HSV-1, HAV-10, and CoxB4 virus. Metabolomics profiling of the methanolic extract of L. coccineus and M. lutea resulted in identifying 12 compounds. The docking study predicted the patterns of interactions between the compounds of L. coccineus and M. lutea with herpes simplex thymidine kinase, hepatitis A 3c proteinase, and Coxsackievirus B4 3c protease, which was similar to those of the co-crystal inhibitors and this can provide a supposed explanation for the antiviral activity of the aqueous and nano extracts of L. coccineus and M. lutea. CONCLUSION: These results highlight that SNPs of L. coccineus and M. lutea could have antiviral activity against HSV-1, HAV-10, and CoxB4 virus.