Cheilocostus speciosus extract-assisted naringenin-encapsulated poly-ε-caprolactone nanoparticles: evaluation of anti-proliferative activities

Cheilocostus speciosus (CS) aqueous leaf extract has been used as a biosurfactant in a simple one-step nano-precipitation method for the synthesis of leaf extract (PE)-mediated polycaprolactone (PCL) nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating naringenin (N). The ensuing NPs comprising naringenin (PCL-PE-N-NPs) exhibited better bioavailability and enhanced antiproliferative effects. The successful formation of NPs was confirmed by multiple characterization techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, FESEM, AFM, TEM, DLS, and zeta potential. The in vitro drug release profile of naringenin from PCL-PE-N-NPs followed Higuchi model kinetics and displayed a controlled release pattern of 94% for up to 48 h with enhanced anticancer activity (IC50 at 83.468 ± 1.59 μg ml−1 against HepG2 cell lines in comparison to the free bioactive naringenin value of IC50 at 161.828 ± 7.58 μg ml−1). Thus, a safe, eco-friendly, non-toxic strategy is presented for synthesizing active naringenin-encapsulated polymer NPs deploying a green and renewable source as a functional surfactant and stabilizer. This bodes well for the development of a safe drug delivery agent in cancer therapy.