Evaluation of Anti-oxidant and Anti-cancer Properties of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Apigenin toward Breast Cancer MCF-7 Cell Line

Introduction: Cancer is one of the most common diseases in the modern societies, which results from the non-stop growth of cells in the body. Due to the advancement of nanobiotechnology, highly effective herbal metabolites can be used to treat cancer. Apigenin is a natural flavonoid that is found in abundance in fruits, vegetables and herbs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and anti-cancer properties of silver nanoparticles synthesized by apigenin on MCF-7 cell line. Methods: In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using apigenin. Antioxidant effects of synthetized nanoparticle were evaluated using ABTS and DPPH assays. The cytotoxicity effects of silver nanoparticles were evaluated by MTT assay towards breast cancer cells. Results: The obtained results showed that the silver nanoparticles synthesized using apigenin had a significant effect on scavenging free radicals. Also, these nanoparticles had a cytotoxicity property towards MCF-7 cells and reduced the survival of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions: Based on our results, silver nanoparticles synthetized using apigenin have cytotoxicity as well as antioxidant properties towards MCF-7 cancer cells and can be proposed as a suitable nanoparticle in the field of pharmacy and medicine.