Background: The biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant materials is a rapidly developing method with several alternative medical applications. This comparative study of ethanolic fruit extract of Citrullus colocynthis (C. colocynthis) (EFECC) and synthesized silver nanoparticles (CC-AgNPs) were carried out for antioxidants and anti-gout arthritic activities.
Methods: The AgNPs were synthesized using C. colocynthis fruit and its characterization was done by UV-visible spectroscopy, TEM, XRD and FT-IR. The 90% ethanol was used for extract preparation. Antioxidant activity was analyzed by DPPH and the Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) method. In vitro anti-arthritic activity was tested by xanthine oxidase inhibition, protein denaturation and HRBC membrane stabilization assay.
Results: The synthesized CC-AgNPs were confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy and TEM images displayed spherical shapes with 10-45 nm size range. Furthermore, the functional groups and crystalline structure of CC-AgNPs were determined by FT-IR and XRD analysis. The biosynthesized CC-AgNPs exhibited an excellent free radical scavenging ability than EFECC. In anti-arthritic activity, the CC-AgNPs showed effective inhibition of xanthine oxidase production, protein denaturation, and damaged RBC membranes compared to EFECC.
Conclusion: The antioxidant activities and in vitro anti-arthritic assays revealed that CC-AgNPs are better anti-gout agents than EFECC. This research suggested that biosynthesized silver nanoparticles from C. colocynthis fruit are an important target in the field of anti-gout drug discovery.
Keywords: Citrullus colocynthis; Metal nanoparticles; Silver; Spectrophotometry; Ultraviolet; Xanthine oxidase.
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