Silver Nanoparticles Derived by Artemisia arborescens Reveal Anticancer and Apoptosis-Inducing Effects

Abstract

The fight against cancer is one of the main challenges for medical research. Recently, nanotechnology has made significant progress, providing possibilities for developing innovative nanomaterials to overcome the common limitations of current therapies. In this context, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) represent a promising nano-tool able to offer interesting applications for cancer research. Following this path, we combined the silver proprieties with Artemisia arborescens characteristics, producing novel nanoparticles called Artemisia–AgNPs. A “green” synthesis method was performed to produce Artemisia–AgNPs, using Artemisia arborescens extracts. This kind of photosynthesis is an eco-friendly, inexpensive, and fast approach. Moreover, the bioorganic molecules of plant extracts improved the biocompatibility and efficacy of Artemisia–AgNPs. The Artemisia–AgNPs were fully characterized and tested to compare their effects on various cancer cell lines, in particular HeLa and MCF-7. Artemisia–AgNPs treatment showed dose-dependent growth inhibition of cancer cells. Moreover, we evaluated their impact on the cell cycle, observing a G1 arrest mediated by Artemisia–AgNPs treatment. Using a clonogenic assay after treatment, we observed a complete lack of cell colonies, which demonstrated cell reproducibility death. To have a broader overview on gene expression impact, we performed RNA-sequencing, which demonstrated the potential of Artemisia–AgNPs as a suitable candidate tool in cancer research.

2-Dimensional in vitro culture assessment of ovarian cancer cell line using cost effective silver nanoparticles from Macrotyloma uniflorum seed extracts

“…This confirms that MU-AgNPs can cause the tumor cells to death through apoptotic pathway. Our data matches with the other reports who has used different plant AgNP extracts ( Bordoni et al, 2021 ). Finally, mitochondrial membrane potential studies confirmed the reduction of cell viability through apoptosis process, thus staining with JC-1 dye confirmed that MU-AgNPs treated group has shown high intensity thus confers the breakdown of mitochondrial membrane and results in lower membrane potential.…”

Phytochemical Composition and In Vitro Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, Anticancer, and Enzyme-Inhibitory Activities of Artemisia nilagirica (C.B. Clarke) Pamp

“…Previous studies have also shown different species of Artemisia in various cancer cells [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. In addition, the green synthesized nanoparticles from different Artemisia species are also reported to exert antiproliferative effects on cancer cells mediated through apoptotic cell death [ 23 , 51 , 52 ]. A study by Sahu, Meena, Shukla, Chaturvedi, Kumar, Datta, and Arya [ 24 ] indicated that ethyl acetate and hexane fractions of A. nilagirica induced cell death in colon, lung, and breast cancer cells.…”

“…The different species of the genus were found to have strong antibacterial and antifungal properties against pathogenic organisms in humans, livestock, and plants [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects are attributed to the bioactive compounds and extracts of various species of Artemisia [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Optical Characteristics of Silver Nanoparticles Obtained Using Artemisia tilesii Ledeb. "Hairy" Root Extracts With High Flavonoid Content

“…There are previously known publications on silver nanoparticles formation in such Artemisia plants, as A. absinthium [56], A. arborescens [57], A. vulgaris [58], A. turcomanica [59], A. sieberi [60], A. afra [61], A. capillaris [62], A. scoporia [63], A. marschalliana [64], A. haussknechtii [65], A. annua [66], and A. tilesii [36]. However, those studies were focused on the characterization of nanoparticles, namely their yield, concentration and size distribution, as well as the antioxidant and reducing potential of obtained nanoparticles and their biomedical applications.…”