Antifilarial efficacy of green silver nanoparticles synthesized using Andrographis paniculata

Abstract The currently available antifilarial drugs are mostly effective against microfilariae. Antifilarial drugs have disadvantages such as toxicity and the development of resistance due to the continuous use. Therefore alternative drugs are required for the control of disease. At present, nanoparticles are used for developing anti-parasitic therapy for their special properties such as smallest in size, bio-availability, bio-compatibility and penetration capacity into a cell. In the present study green nanoparticles were biosynthesized by using leaf extract of Andrographis paniculata to evaluate its antifilarial efficacy. Biosynthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDAX, TEM, HRTEM, AFM and found to be homogenous with average size of 11 nm. The antifilarial efficacy of green nanoparticles was based on adult filarial parasite motility and viability assay. These green nanoparticles (NPs) were found to have antifilarial activity with LC50 of 11.6 μg/ml against adult female filarial parasites. The green nanoparticles induced oxidative stress as evidenced by elevated ROS production and decline of parasitic GST, GR, TRxR and GSH levels in the parasite. The activation of ced-3 gene, a homolog of mammalian caspase 3, reduced expression of ced-9 and decreased activity of cytochrome c oxidase suggested induction of mitochondrial mediated apoptosis in parasite. These green NPs are more effective than the plant extract. This is the first report where green nanoparticles synthesized from A. paniculata showed antifilarial efficacy against adult filarial parasites.