Chemical characterization and evaluation of antimicrobial and cutaneous wound healing potentials of gold nanoparticles using Allium saralicum R.M. Fritsch

Abstract

© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The use of herbal medicines dates back a long way in history. Herbal medicines have been widely used all over the world since ancient times and have been recognized by physicians and patients for their good therapeutic value as they have fewer adverse effects than modern medicines. Recently, researchers have used gold nanoparticles synthesized by plants in the prevention, control, and treatment of infectious disorders and cutaneous wounds. The aims of this study were to synthesize gold nanoparticles from aqueous extract of Allium saralicum R.M. Fritsch (AuNPs) and assess their therapeutic capacities. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FT-IR results offered polysaccharides and protein in A. saralicum were the sources of reducing power, reducing gold ions to AuNPs. According to XRD analysis, the crystal size of the nanoparticles was 41.6 nm. TEM and FE-SEM images exhibited average diameters of 45 nm for the biosynthesized nanoparticles. The synthesized AuNPs had great cell viability on HUVECs line and showed this method was nontoxic. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging test indicated similar antioxidant potentials for A. saralicum, AuNPs, and butylated hydroxytoluene. To determine the antifungal and antibacterial properties of HAuCl4, A. saralicum, and AuNPs, agar diffusion tests were used. The aim of the application both HAuCl4 and A. saralicum in microbial tests was to investigate the synergism effects between them. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) were specified by macro-broth dilution assay. AuNPs exhibited higher antifungal and antibacterial effects than all standard antibiotics (p ≤ 0.01). The MIC and MBC of AuNPs against all bacteria were in the ranges 1–4 mg/ml and 2–8 mg/ml, respectively. The MIC and MFC of AuNPs against all fungi were in the ranges 1–4 mg/ml and 2–4 mg/ml, respectively. In vivo part, AuNPs ointment group raised significantly (p ≤ 0.01) the wound contracture, vessel, hydroxyl proline, hexuronic acid, fibrocyte, fibroblast, and fibrocytes/fibroblast rate and decreased significantly (p ≤ 0.01) the wound area, total cells, and lymphocyte compared to other groups in rats. The results of FT-IR, UV–Vis, XRD, TEM, and FE-SEM analyses confirm that the aqueous extract of A. saralicum leaves can be used to yield gold nanoparticles with a notable amount of remedial effects without any cytotoxicity against HUVECs.