Cytotoxicity test and the potency of polyvinyl alcohol-based Moringa oleifera nanoparticles on cancer cell death: In vitro study

Moringa oleifera (MO) has been explored for anticancer drug development. However, conventional extract formulations face limitations in drug delivery. Nanoparticles offer a promising alternative due to their small size, enhancing drug selectivity, efficacy, and safety. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize polyvinyl alcohol-based MO nanoparticles (NpMO) and assess their cytotoxicity and anticancer potential. Moreover, NpMO was synthesized using ultrasonication and characterized by its size, functional groups, and surface morphology. Then, an MTT assay was conducted in Vero and HeLa cells, each divided into a control group and five treatment groups (PV1-5 and PL1-5). The treatment groups received NpMO with various doses: 12.5 µg/mL, 25 µg/mL, 50 µg/mL, 100 µg/mL, and 200 µg/mL. The results were represented as OD values and percentage of viable cells, with statistical analysis performed using SPSS version 27. We found that Vero cell viability remained high at 96%, 95%, 93%, 90%, and 82.3% in PV groups, indicating no significant difference between control and PV1-PV4 groups with statistical analysis. Meanwhile, HeLa cell viability decreased to 98%, 92%, 78%, 69%, and 50.2%, with PL5 showing the lowest viability percentage. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant difference between PL5 and the other PL groups. In conclusion, NpMO showed minimal toxicity to Vero cells (>50% viability up to 200 µg/mL) but significantly reduced HeLa cell viability at 50-200 µg/mL, with the strongest effect at 200 µg/mL, indicating a potential anticancer activity.