Silver nanoparticles synthesized from Adenium obesum leaf extract induced DNA damage, apoptosis and autophagy via generation of reactive oxygen species.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are an important class of nanomaterial used for a wide range of industrial and biomedical applications. Adenium obesum is a plant of the family Apocynaceae that is rich in toxic cardiac glycosides; however, there is scarce information on the anticancer potential of its AgNPs. We herein report the novel biosynthesis of AgNPs using aqueous leaf extract of A. obesum (AOAgNPs). The synthesis of AOAgNPs was monitored by color change and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (425 nm). It was further characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The FTIR spectra for the AOAgNPs indicated the presence of terpenoids, long chain fatty acids, secondary amide derivatives and proteins that could be responsible for the reduction and capping of the formed AOAgNPs. X-ray diffraction confirmed the crystallinity of the AgNPs. The TEM images revealed mostly spherical particles in the size range of 10-30 nm. The biological properties of novel AOAgNPs were investigated on MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Cell viability was determined by the MTT assay. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage, induction of apoptosis and autophagy were assessed. A dose-dependent decrease in the cell viability was observed. The IC50 value was calculated as 217 μg/ml. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluation confirmed about a 2.5 fold increase in the generation of ROS at the highest concentration of 150 μg/ml. A significant (p<0.05) increase in the DNA damage evaluated by comet assay was evident. Flow cytometry revealed an increase in the apoptotic cells (24%) in the AOAgNPs treated group compared to the control. Acridine orange staining of acidic vesicles in exposed cells confirmed the induction of autophagy. These findings suggest that AOAgNPs increased the level of ROS resulting in heightened the DNA damage, apoptosis and autophagy in MCF-7 cells.