Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Hydroethanolic Extract of Cucurbita pepo L. Fruit and Their Anti-proliferative and Apoptotic Activity Against Breast Cancer Cell Line (MCF-7)

Cancer is the second leading cause of death all over the world and breast cancer is the second common member of cancers worldwide. In this study, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were synthesized; using hydroethanolic extract of Cucurbita pepo
L. fruit and evaluated for their antiproliferative and apoptotic activities against MCF-7 cell line.

Ag-NPs formation was characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Cytotoxicity and apoptosis responses were evaluated by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl]-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/ EB) fluorescent staining, respectively.

Our results demonstrated the formation of Ag-NPs by Cucurbita pepo L. fruit extract discoloration to dark black. This transformation revealed their slightly aggregated shapes to quasi-spherical form with a mean diameter of 104 nm. The zeta potential value was -42.3 mV for any Ag-NPs. These results indicated the successful formation of Ag- NPs for cellular uptake. MTT results showed that Ag-NPs significantly decreased the viability and induced MCF-7 cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner; especially at concentrations of 50 and 250 μg/mL.

In conclusion, according to the results of the present study, biologically synthesized Ag-NPs induce apoptotic and cytotoxic effects against breast cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner.