Introduction: In recent years, silver nanoparticles have been intensively studied, due to their diverse applications in medicine, such as antiviral, antimicrobial, anticancer, antiangiogenic and antioxidant agents. The... [ view full abstract ]
Introduction: In recent years, silver nanoparticles have been intensively studied, due to their diverse applications in medicine, such as antiviral, antimicrobial, anticancer, antiangiogenic and antioxidant agents. The phytomediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles, using plants or fruits extracts, gained lately much popularity, offering an effective, safe and free of side effects therapeutic alternative for a wide variety of diseases. The aim of our study was the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using European elderberry fruit extract and the investigation of their anti-inflammatory effects.
Methods: The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles has been achieved by reducing silver ions from silver nitrate solution with European elderberry fruit extract, at different nitrate:extract ratios, at room temperature. The anti-inflammatory effect of the obtained nanoparticles was studied in vivo on acute inflammation model in Wistar rats in comparison with Indomethacin (a widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), by measuring the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) levels at 2, 24 and 48 hours after carrageenan induced inflammation.
Results and Discussion: The optimum ratio nitrate:extract for the synthesis of new hybrid biomaterial using biologically active compounds from European elderberry fruit extract was found to be 7:3. The obtained silver nanoparticles were characterized using different techniques such as UV-VIS spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and have been stable for more than 60 days. Treatment with silver nanoparticles significantly decreased the TNFa levels at all the investigated time intervals after carrageenan administration compared to indomethacin.
Conclusion: An eco-friendly, rapid and cost effective method for the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using the European elderberry fruits extract was developed. Investigation of their anti-inflammatory properties revealed a better activity compared to indomethacin, suggesting their great potential as ingredients of new therapeutic agents for treatment of inflammatory diseases.
