Quantitative analysis and pharmacological assessment of the methanolic and silver nanoparticles of Chamaecostus cuspidatus

Nature has various medicinal properties worldwide, and natural environmental sources are the source of many alternative contemporary medications. Many civilizations employ plants as medicine, and because of their bioactive chemicals, they may produce potent pharmaceuticals. Synthesis of Silver nanoparticles of these valuable plants possesses great potential in the modern therapeutic sector. Chamaecostus cuspidatus, commonly known as the Insulin plant due to its abundant secondary metabolites, provides a hypoglycemic effect and has considerable antioxidant and anticancer properties. The total alkaloid, tannins, and phenolic contents in methanolic and aqueous AgNP extracts of C. cuspidatus were quantified using a spectrophotometric approach. The DPPH assay is a quick and straightforward approach to assessing putative antioxidants, with ascorbic acid as the standard. In ascorbic acid, %inhibition is 50.8 at 10 μg/ml, the highest with the lowest IC 50 value, i.e. , −3.3. Compared to ascorbic acid, the percentage inhibition of methanolic and AgNP extract at 10 μg/ml is 12.57 and −0.57, respectively, and IC 50 was calculated as 0.52 and −0.03. The MTT assay was carried out to detect anticancer activity. The IC 50 value was calculated using a linear regression equation, and it was found to be 123.32 μg/ml in methanolic extract and 101.66 μg/ml in AgNP extract. Extracts with IC 50 values between 21 and 200 μg/mL were considered moderately cytotoxic by the National Cancer Institute and the Geran protocol. Scheme 1. Schematic diagram of quantitative analysis and pharmacological assessment of the methanolic and silver nanoparticles of Chamaecostus cuspidatus .