Green synthesized silver nanoparticles using the plant-based reducing agent Matricaria chamomilla induce cell death in colorectal cancer cells

- OBJECTIVE: There is a need to treat cancer cells with safe and natural nanopar-ticles to avoid the side effects of chemothera-peutic agents. Chamomile is considered a safe, natural plant with anticancer activity. We synthe-size simple, inexpensive, and eco-friendly silver nanoparticles (SNs) using Chamomile (CHM) to tune their anticancer properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SN-CHM was synthesized by reducing 1 mM silver nitrate aqueous solution in 100 mL with the aqueous ethanolic flower extract of CHM (18 mg/mL, w/v). The reaction proceeded overnight at 600 rpm and 28 degrees C. SN-CHM was characterized for their % yield, average diameter, charge, morphology, and silver release. Moreover, SN-CHM was in-vestigated for its antioxidant and anticancer ac-tivities at 200 mu g/mL and 5 mg/ mL, respectively. RESULTS: A 59.12% yield and a uniform SN-CHM size of 115 +/- 3.1 nm with a zeta-potential of-27.67 +/- (-3.92) mv were observed. The UV -vis-ible absorption showed shifts from 379.5 to 383.5 nm for CHM and SN-CHM, respective-ly. Moreover, Ag+ was ultimately released from SN-CHM after 5 h. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) showed characteristic ab-sorption peaks of CHM and produced SN-CHM. Furthermore, SN-CHM showed moderate antiox-idant activity. SN-CHM inhibited the % viability of SW620 and HT-29 cell lines at 20 mu M. SN-CHM may also greatly upregulate the apoptotic gene BAX while considerably downregulating the an-ti-apoptotic genes BCL2 and BCL-Xl. CONCLUSIONS: CHM can be a safe soft drink, especially when conjugated with Ag ions as an-ticancer NPs. SN-CHM is considered potent anti-cancer activity against SW620, and HT-29 cell lines.