Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from aqueous leaf extract of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) and their anticancer activity on human cervical cancer cells

Sonia Sarkar and Venkatesan Kotteeswaran

Abstract

Plants contain different important phytochemicals that can be used as a potential treatment for various ailments including cancer. The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from the extract of different plant parts has gained a wide range of engrossment among the researchers due to its unique optical and structural property. The aim of this study is green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from the aqueous leaf extract of pomegranate (Punica granatum) and to investigate its anticancer activity on human cervical cancer cells (HeLa). The synthesis of silver nanoparticle was depicted by the colour change from golden yellowish to dark brownish, UV-visible spectral analysis gave a characteristic surface plasmon absorption peak at 420 nm. Further morphological characterization was done by Zeta potential where the size analysis was depicted to be 46.1 nm and zeta potential as -67.2 mV. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) inferred 3 intense sharp peaks at 3393 cm^-1, 1638 cm^-1, 667 cm^-1, confirmed the presence of flavonoids and polyphenols. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis with energy diffraction spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the presence of silver nanoparticles with size ranged from 41.69 nm to 69.61 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the crystallographic nature of silver. The cell proliferation activity of nanoparticles was tested by 3, −4, 5 dimethylthiazol-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay where the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) was found at 100 μg ml^-1 inhibiting 50% of HeLa cell line. The anticancer activity of nanoparticles was determined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay where 100 μg ml^-1 showed 50% of cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the anticancer property of nanoparticles was confirmed by the DNA fragmentation assay