Antibiotics (Sep 2024)

Insight into Romanian Wild-Grown <i>Heracleum sphondylium</i>: Development of a New Phytocarrier Based on Silver Nanoparticles with Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Cytotoxicity Potential

  • Adina-Elena Segneanu,
  • Gabriela Vlase,
  • Titus Vlase,
  • Ludovic Everard Bejenaru,
  • George Dan Mogoşanu,
  • Gabriela Buema,
  • Dumitru-Daniel Herea,
  • Maria Viorica Ciocîlteu,
  • Cornelia Bejenaru

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13090911
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 9
p. 911

Abstract

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Background: Heracleum sphondylium, a medicinal plant used in Romanian ethnopharmacology, has been proven to have remarkable biological activity. The escalating concerns surrounding antimicrobial resistance led to a special attention being paid to new efficient antimicrobial agents based on medicinal plants and nanotechnology. We report the preparation of a novel, simple phytocarrier that harnesses the bioactive properties of H. sphondylium and silver nanoparticles (HS-Ag system). Methods: H. sphondylium’s low metabolic profile was determined through gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and electrospray ionization–quadrupole time-of-flight–mass spectrometry. The morphostructural properties of the innovative phytocarrier were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using total phenolic content, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in vitro assays. The antimicrobial activity screening against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli was conducted using the agar well diffusion method. The 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay estimated the in vitro potential cytotoxicity on normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and cervical cancer (HeLa) cells. Results: A total of 88 biomolecules were detected, such as terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, coumarins, phenylpropanoids, iridoids, amino acids, phytosterols, fatty acids. The HS-Ag phytocarrier heightened efficacy in suppressing the growth of all tested bacterial strains compared to H. sphondylium and exhibited a significant inhibition of HeLa cell viability. Conclusions: The new HS-Ag phytocarrier system holds promise for a wide range of medical applications. The data confirm the capacity to augment the pertinent theoretical understanding in the innovative field of antimicrobial agents.

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