In Vivo Therapeutic Potential of Biologically Synthesized Nanoparticles From Pine Needle Leaf Extract in...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most widespread metabolic diseases characterized by increased blood glucose levels. According to the most recent research, the treatment of diabetes could be improved with the use of green-synthesized nanoparticles due to their biocompatibility, efficient cellular uptake, and targeted therapy.

In the present study, nanoparticles were biosynthesized using pine needle leaf extract to assess their antidiabetic potential in a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat model.

Initially, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), yttrium-doped AgNPs (Y-AgNPs), and gadolinium-chromium-yttrium-doped AgNPs (GCY-AgNPs) were green-synthesized using pine needle leaf extract and characterized by UV-Vis, PL, XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, TEM, and VSM. Diabetes was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (55 mg/kg), followed by administration of pine needle leaf extract (PNLE), AgNPs, Y-AgNPs, GCY-AgNPs (7.5 mg/kg each), and glibenclamide (GLB, 5 mg/kg) to diabetic rats for 7 or 21 days. The assessment included body weight, blood glucose levels, and biochemical, lipid, and kidney histology, along with molecular docking for nanoparticle-protein interactions.

Diabetic rats exhibited weight reduction alongside increased blood glucose levels. Treatment with green-synthesized nanoparticles markedly reduced blood glucose, along with aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), urea, creatinine, serum triglycerides (TG), total serum cholesterol (TC), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), while increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. The intraperitoneal injection of green-synthesized nanoparticles provided notable protection to rat kidneys against STZ-induced damage by maintaining the cortical and tubular structures, as well as mitigating the histopathological lesions. In-silico docking studies confirmed strong interactions of the nanoparticles with the antidiabetic targets via hydrogen and hydrophobic interactions, revealing possible therapeutic applications.

Among all nanoparticle formulations, GCY-AgNPS showed the strongest protective effect against STZ-induced diabetic kidney damage. The findings exhibited significant antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effects against STZ-induced diabetes in rats.