Identification of possible reductants in the aqueous leaf extract of mangrove plant Rhizophora apiculata for the fabrication and cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles against human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells

Rhizophora apiculata is a less studied tannin-rich plant of the mangrove ecosystem with potent biomedical applications. Tannins have been known to reduce silver ions into silver nanoparticles which in particular are known to possess cytotoxic effects against a variety of cancer cells. The aqueous leaf extract was prepared and quantitatively analyzed for its phytochemical content. According to the quantitative phytochemical analysis, the extract was rich in tannins and other reducing sugars. The reducing sugar-rich extract was further used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Taking these facts into consideration, in this study, an eco-friendly approach was followed to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles using a tannin-rich Rhizophora apiculata aqueous leaf extract. The synthesized nanoparticles were partially characterized by our previous reports. This report further characterizes the particles by determining its average size, polydispersity index and zeta potential using dynamic light scattering. After characterization, the nanoparticles were tested for cytotoxic effects against human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells. The effects were analyzed by microscopic observation and MTT assay. The results indicate that the tannin-rich extract reduced the precursor silver nitrate into silver nanoparticles of favorable size for tumor infiltration. The nanoparticles possessed significant cytotoxic effects against MG-63 cells which could be possibly attributed to the antioxidant activity of silver nanoparticles. Further studies at the molecular level can indicate its potential in nanomedicine for the treatment of bone cancer at the clinical level.