The synergistic effect of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles from a combined extract of parsley, corn silk, and gum arabic: in vivo antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities

Abstract

Abstract Microbial resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammatory conditions are among the leading causes of death worldwide. In the current work, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were biosynthesized using the aqueous extracts of parsley, corn silk (CS), gum Arabic (GA) or combination of the three extracts. The formed nanoparticles were characterized using three techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible spectrophotometer and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities were tested for the formed nanoparticles, the aqueous extracts of each of the three plants and their combination. Oxidative stress was induced by alloxan which promoted the development of diabetes mellitus in rats. Inflammation was induced by injecting carrageenan in rats’ paws. Pathogenic microorganisms causing serious urinary tract infection (UTI) were selected for the antimicrobial assay. All aqueous extracts and the biosynthesized AgNPs showed variable degrees of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities, however, the AgNPs biosynthesized by the combination of the three aqueous extracts was the most effective one. LC/MS was done to identify the compounds present in the crude extracts that may be responsible for the observed biological activities. LC/MS resulted in the identification of 13 compounds. Docking experiments on COX-1 (cyclooxygenase-1) and COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2) were performed to determine the compounds responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts. The results showed that silver nanoparticles synthesized by the combination of the three aqueous extracts are considered promising candidates for the development of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents.