Phytofabrication of cupric oxide nanoparticles using Simarouba glauca and Celastrus paniculatus extracts and their enhanced apoptotic inducing and anticancer effects

Cupric oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were phytofabricated utilizing leaf extract of Simarouba glauca and aerial extract of Celastrus paniculatus and are considered to hold excellent anticancer capability. Synthesized CuO NPs were characterized for their morphology, crystallinity, and structure. The presence of functional groups of phytochemicals on synthesized nanoparticles was validated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination reveal the uniform distribution of particles and the average particle size is 35 nm. The anticancer activities on MCF-7 and HT-29 cell lines revealed that CuO NPs synthesized using leaf extract of S. glauca (CuO-SG) induced cell death with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 107.56 mu g/mL and 208.57 mu g/mL, while CuO NPs synthesized using the aerial extract of C. paniculatus (CuO-CP) indicated IC50 values of 97.39 mu g/mL and 205.11 mu g/mL, respectively. To be more precise for anti-cancerous effect, the molecular mechanism was examined in MCF-7 cell line treated with CuO-CP NPs by cell cycle analysis that depicted 75.28% of cell arrest in Sub G(0)/G(1) phase and 71.29% of cells were gated in the late apoptotic phase of Annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) compared to control cells. The present work reports in vivo antitumor studies of CuO-CP NPs against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) bearing C57 mice for the first time and was examined by variations in growth parameters, biochemical assays, hematological profile, and histopathological analysis. CuO-CP NPs could eliminate oxidants like lactoperoxidase and myeloperoxidase, stimulate reduced glutathione, restore the hematological profile and increase the life span of tumor-bearing mice treated by them in comparison with control.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that CuO nanoparticles synthesized using plant extracts have excellent anticancer activity, inducing cell death in cancer cells. By examining the cell cycle and apoptosis, it is confirmed that CuO nanoparticles have a significant cytotoxic effect on cancer cells. Further experiments show the ability of CuO nanoparticles to effectively combat tumors in vivo.