Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using moringa oleifera and cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by green synthesis method using the dried leaf extract (MOE) of Moringa oleifera plant. The cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of the obtained silver nanoparticles on MCF-7 and HUVEC cell lines were evaluated. Visible Region Spectrophotometer (U-Vis), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques were used in the synthesis and characterization of AgNPs. The maximum absorption wavelength of the AgNP solution synthesized from the leaf was found to be 420 nm. The resulting Bragg peaks were found to be compatible with JCPDS model 04-0783. SEM analysis showed that the AgNPs were spherical in shape and had sizes of 83.81-70.15-72.84 and 56.01 nm. The cytotoxic effects of M. oleifera and synthesized AgNPs on MCF-7 and HUVEC cell lines were compared during the 24, 48 and 72 hour periods. The LD50 value for AgNP was found to be 5 μg/mL at 24, 48 and 72 hours comparison. In addition, it was determined that AgNP concentrations causing cell death were cytotoxic at much lower concentrations than MOE. The genotoxic effects of M. oleifera and synthesized AgNPs on MCF-7 and HUVEC cell lines were compared during the 24, 48 and 72 hour periods. More cytotoxic effects and DNA damage were observed by AgNPs and MOE on the MCF-7 cell line. On the HUVEC cell line, on the other hand, DNA damage was observed by AgNPs and MOE, which was not very effective. The highest DNA damage (103.67±6.03) by AgNPs synthesized in the MCF-7 cell line was observed at 10 μg/mL at 72 hours, however the least DNA damage (48.33±2.52) was observed at 1.25 μg/mL at 24 hours observed. This increase in DNA damage was found to be statistically significant. The findings of the current study suggest that the synthesized AgNPs.