Combating silver nanoparticle‐mediated toxicity in Drosophila melanogaster with curcumin

Abstract

Nanoscale materials display unique physical and chemical properties that enable their assimilation into a variety of industrial and consumer products. Amongst the widely used nanomaterials, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have gained tremendous recognition for various applications, owing to their extraordinary plasmonic and bactericidal properties. Despite of the extensive usage of AgNPs in various sectors, its impact on human health remains ambiguous. Several studies have established that higher doses of AgNPs are detrimental to organismal health. In order to attain the best from these versatile nanoparticles, a recent advent of green nanotechnology, that is, employment of metal nanoparticles synthesized using plant extracts, has emerged. Here, using Drosophila as a model system, we tested if adding curcumin, a biologically active polyphenolic compound present in turmeric, having multitudes of therapeutic properties, could mitigate AgNP‐mediated biotoxicity. We found that co‐administration of AgNPs with curcumin in the fly food could alleviate several harmful effects evoked by AgNPs ingestion in Drosophila model. Addition of curcumin superseded reduction in feeding, pupation, eclosion, pigmentation, and fertility caused by AgNPs ingestion. Interestingly, impairment in ovary development observed in flies reared on AgNPs‐supplemented food was also partially restored by co‐administration of AgNPs with curcumin. Furthermore, substantial alleviation of reactive oxygen species level and cell death was observed in larval tissues upon co‐supplementation of AgNPs with curcumin. We therefore propose that curcumin, when administered with AgNPs, can abrogate the toxic manifestations of AgNPs ingestion and hence can be incorporated in various consumer products encompassing it.

An In Vitro and In Vivo Study of the Efficacy and Toxicity of Plant-Extract-Derived Silver Nanoparticles

“…However, in the present study, we showed that AgNPs tended to reduce the bio-toxicity when synthesized from scratch with the turmeric extract as the precursor. The effect of curcumin added along with the silver-nanoparticle-rich diet in Drosophila was reported earlier [ 25 ].…”

“…The number of flies passing the 10 cm mark in 15 s was recorded for each condition. Three trials per replicate condition were allowed and noted [ 25 ].…”

“…The scratch assay was conducted to study the toxicity in these cell lines. Amongst the different vertebrate models used for in vivo toxicity studies, Drosophila has gained wide attention because of its cost-effectiveness, shorter life cycle, ease of genetic manipulation, and ease of growth in laboratory conditions [ 25 ]. Developmental assays were done on the Drosophila model to study the behavioral pattern through toxic drug exposure.…”

Succinate, silicon dioxide, aluminium oxide, and silver nano- and microparticle influence on the model organism Drosophila melanogaster

“…In the drosophila model toxic effects of aluminium oxide, and silver nanoparticles in diameter up to 100 nm have been detected. Al 2 O 3 particles (< 50 nm), along phenotypic alterations, induced decrease of locomotor activity of eclosed flies (Anand et al, 2019), similarly, Ag particles (20-100 nm) caused developmental delay, reduced fly size and impaired locomotion (Singh et al, 2021).…”

“…Since the ability to induce oxidative stress has been demonstrated for given composition nanoparticles (Mirshafa et al, 2018, Singh et al, 2021, Peropadre et al, 2023, further characterization of Ps included in 3D biotextiles is required, paying attention to biochemical and molecular markers that participate in oxidative stress regulation processes.…”