Application of a novel lung protective drug formulated by silver nanoparticles containing Curcuma longa L leaf aqueous extract on α-Guttiferin-induced DNA fragmentation and apoptosis in lung HEL 299, MRC-5, IMR-90, CCD-19Lu, WI-38, and BEAS-2B cell lines

Recently, scientists have understood that metallic nanoparticles green-synthesized by medicinal plants have significant anti-cancer effects in the in vitro , in vivo , and clinical trial conditions. Also, the anti-lung cancer properties of metallic nanoparticles containing natural compounds have been indicated in many studies. In the recent research, we tried to investigate the application of a novel lung protective drug formulated by silver nanoparticles containing Curcuma longa L leaf aqueous extract on α-Guttiferin-induced DNA fragmentation and apoptosis in HEL 299, MRC-5, IMR-90, CCD-19Lu, WI-38, and BEAS-2B cell lines. Also, we assessed the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, activity of caspase-3, and potential of mitochondrial membrane in the in vitro condition. Silver nanoparticles were characterized and analyzed by common physicochemical techniques including Transmission Electron Microscopy, Ultraviolet–Visible Spectroscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy. In the biological part of the present research, the cell viability of HEL 299, MRC-5, IMR-90, CCD-19Lu, WI-38, and BEAS-2B cell lines was measured by trypan blue assay. Caspase-3 activity was assessed by the caspase activity colorimetric assay kit and mitochondrial membrane potential was studied by Rhodamine123 fluorescence dye. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) test was used to show DNA fragmentation and apoptosis. Also, the Rat inflammatory cytokine assay kit was used to measure the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines. Silver nanoparticles-treated cell cutlers significantly ( p  ≤ 0.01) reduced the DNA fragmentation, caspase-3 activity, and inflammatory cytokines concentrations, and raised the mitochondrial membrane potential and cell viability in the high concentration of α-Guttiferin-treated HEL 299, MRC-5, IMR-90, CCD-19Lu, WI-38, and BEAS-2B cells. The best result of lung protective and antioxidant properties of silver nanoparticles containing Curcuma longa L leaf aqueous extract was seen in the high dose of silver nanoparticles i.e., 4 µg. Assessment of the antioxidant properties of silver nanoparticles was done with the common free radical scavenging test i.e., DPPH in the presence of butylated hydroxytoluene as the positive control. The nanoparticles inhibited half of the DPPH molecules in the concentration of 149 µg/mL. According to the above results, silver nanoparticles containing Curcuma longa L leaf aqueous extract can be administrated as a lung protective drug for the treatment of lung diseases after approving in the clinical trial studies in humans.