BAOBAB EXTRACT WITH ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES FOR TARGETED TREATMENT FOR LIVER CANCER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2026v18i1.55835Keywords:
Baobab extract, Zinc oxide nanoparticles, Liver cancer, Drug delivery, Cell proliferationAbstract
Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is presently one of the most common and most deadly malignancies in the world, and it has a poor prognosis and a limited number of treatment strategies. Conventional treatment usually has serious side effects and resistance. The current study was designed to compare the effectiveness of Adansonia digitata L. (baobab) fruit extract as a green biosynthetic agent, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnNPs@BF) and to determines potential anticancer activity on liver cancer.
Methods: ZnO nanoparticle synthesis was performed using the baobab extract as a natural reducing and stabilizing agent. The phytochemical content of baobab, the process involved in nanoparticle fabrication, and the physicochemical characteristics of ZnNPs@BF were established. An overview of the in vitro studies on cytotoxicity was provided, with particular focus on the comparison of liver cancer cells to normal ones.
Results: The synthesized ZnNPs@BF by the green approach showed excellent properties with a homogeneous hexagonal structure and an average crystallite size of 33 nm using FESM and XRD techniques. These unique properties have been exploited to assess the ZnNPs@BF anti-cancer activity. The anti-cancer test revealed that ZnNPshave potent dose-dependent cytotoxicity against HCAM liver cancer cells with IC50 of 1.45 μg/ml and showed no cytotoxicity with normal HBL-100 cells. These findings highlight that ZnNPs@BF can play a crucial role as a promising, effective, and selective anti-cancer nanomaterial with other biomedical potential applications.
Conclusion: The zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnNPs@BF) prepared from baobab extract are a safe, environmentally friendly, and effective method for delivering drugs to liver cancer cells. However, based on the obtained results, further preclinical and clinical research is needed to confirm their use and translate them into clinical applications.
References
1. Bhutadiya VL, Mistry KN. A review on bioactive phytochemicals and its mechanism on cancer treatment and prevention by targeting multiple cellular signaling pathways. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2021;13(12):15-9. doi: 10.22159/ijpps.2021v13i12.43031.
2. Begum SA, Rani SJ, Banu A, Pavani A, Yeruva V. Statistics of cancer, 2020 in Indian states: a review on the report from national cancer registry programme. Asian J Pharm Clin Res. 2021;14(6):36-42. doi: 10.22159/ajpcr.2021.v14i6.41616.
3. Dutta S, Deb N, Pattnaik AK, Besra SE. Apoptosis-inducing potential of Lawsonia alba Lam. leaves on hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells along with its antioxidant property. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2016;8(9):156-62. doi: 10.22159/ijpps.2016.v8i9.12815.
4. Allaire M, Goumard C, Lim C, Le Cleach A, Wagner M, Scatton O. New frontiers in liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. JHEP Rep. 2020;2(4):100134. doi: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2020.100134, PMID 32695968.
5. Gokul M, Umarani G, Esakki A. Green synthesis and characterization of isolated flavonoid mediated copper nanoparticles by using Thespesia populnea leaf extract and its evaluation of antioxidant and anticancer activity. Int J Chem Res. 2022;6(1):15-32. doi: 10.22159/ijcr.2022v6i1.197.
6. Adesina JA, Zhu J. A review of the geographical distribution, indigenous benefits and conservation of African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) tree in sub-Saharan Africa. Preprints. 2022 May 23;1. doi: 10.20944/preprints202205.0287.
7. Neamah SA, Albukhaty S, Falih IQ, Dewir YH, Mahood HB. Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Capparis spinosa L. fruit extract: characterization, biocompatibility and antioxidant activity. Appl Sci. 2023;13(11):6604. doi: 10.3390/app13116604.
8. Kopustinskiene DM, Jakstas V, Savickas A, Bernatoniene J. Flavonoids as anticancer agents. Nutrients. 2020;12(2):457. doi: 10.3390/nu12020457, PMID 32059369.
9. Vinha AF, Costa AS, Pimentel FB, Espirito Santo L, Sousa C, Freitas M. Bioactive compounds and scavenging capacity of Adansonia digitata L. (Baobab fruit) pulp extracts against ROS and RNS of physiological relevance. Appl Sci. 2024;14(8):3408. doi: 10.3390/app14083408.
10. Menazea AA, Ismail AM, Samy A. Novel green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using orange waste and its thermal and antibacterial activity. J Inorg Organomet Polym Mater. 2021;31(11):4250-9. doi: 10.1007/s10904-021-02074-2.
11. Ijoma KI, Ajiwe VI. Phytochemical screening of Dialium indum leaf extract (Velvet tamarind). Int J Phytopharmacy. 2017;7(1):6-13. doi: 10.7439/ijpp.v7i1.3942.
12. Ji X. A perspective of ZnCl₂ electrolytes: the physical and electrochemical properties. eScience. 2021;1(2):99–107. doi: 10.1016/j.esci.2021.09.003.
13. Hoseini Alfatemi SM, Fallah F, Armin S, Hafizi M, Karimi A, Kalanaky S. Evaluation of blood and liver cytotoxicity and apoptosis-necrosis induced by nanochelating-based silver nanoparticles in mouse model. Iran J Pharm Res. 2020;19(2):207-18. doi: 10.22037/IJPR.2020.1101026, PMID 33224226.
14. Chung DM, Kim JH, Kim JK. Evaluation of MTT and trypan blue assays for radiation-induced cell viability test in HepG2 cells. Int J Radiat Res. 2015;13(4):331. doi: 10.7508/ijrr.2015.04.006.
15. Rasool MA, Qader KO, Mustafa NW. Anticancer promise of Loranthus europaeus extract: impact on the AMJ13 breast cancer cell line. Health Biotechnol Biopharma (HBB). 2025;9(2):117–34. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.13802725.
16. Chinnasamy S, Ramchandran M, Selvam M, Nanjundan P. Alternative energy exploitation of agricultural biomass using SPSS Statistics. J Appl Chem Phys. 2023;2(4):1-9. doi: 10.46632/jacp/2/4/1.[17]S.
17. Goutam P, Yadav AK, Das AJ. Coriander extract mediated green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and their structural, optical and antibacterial properties. NanoScience Technol. 2017;3(1):249-52. doi: 10.30799/jnst.079.17030205.
18. Shehu A, Joshua OO, Uduma UA. Unveiling the potential of a tri-seed synthesis approach: synthesis of zinc nanoparticles with enhanced antimicrobial properties. Discov Chem. 2025;2(1):1-19. doi: 10.1007/s44214-025-00055-3.
19. Kadam SD, Kondawar MS. Evaluation of in vitro anticancer activity and quantitation of active ingredient of Adansonia digitata L. fruit. Int J Pharm Sci Drug Res. 2019;11(6):358–69. doi: 10.25004/IJPSDR.2019.110613.
20. Chouhan MK, Roy TK, Patil D, Bhatkal A, Kasajima I, Hegde S. Cytotoxicity assessment and LC-MS profiling of Adansonia digitata on human gastric and osteosarcoma cancer cell lines. Food Hum. 2024;2:100270. doi: 10.1016/j.foohum.2024.100270.
21. Gaffney EV. A cell line (HBL-100) established from human breast milk. Cell Tissue Res. 1982;227(3):563-8. doi: 10.1007/BF00204786, PMID 6891286.
22. Pola S, Konatala A. Evaluation of toxicity of nanoparticles using cell lines. In: Siddhardha B, Dyavaiah M, Kasinathan K, editors. Model organisms to study biological activities and toxicity of nanoparticles. Singapore: Springer Singapore; 2020. p. 297-315. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-1702-0_15.
23. Chouhan MK, Roy TK, Patil D, Bhatkal A, Kasajima I, Hegde S. Cytotoxicity assessment and LC-MS profiling of Adansonia digitata on human gastric and osteosarcoma cancer cell lines. Food Hum. 2024 May;2:100270. doi: 10.1016/j.foohum.2024.100270.
24. Kadam SD, Kondawar MS. Evaluation of in vitro anticancer activity and quantitation of active ingredient of Adansonia digitata L. fruit. Int J Pharm Sci Drug Res. 2019;11(6):358–69. doi: 10.25004/IJPSDR.2019.110613.
25. Mikaeili Ghezeljeh S, Salehzadeh A, Ataei E Jaliseh S. Iron oxide nanoparticles coated with glucose and conjugated with Safranal (Fe3O4@Glu-Safranal NPs), inducing apoptosis in liver cancer cell line (HepG2). BMC Chem. 2024;18(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s13065-024-01142-1, PMID 38360669.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 AYMN YASEEN SHARAF ZEEBAREE, ABEER MANSOUR ABDEL RASOOL, MAES MK. ALKHYATT
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.