Physicochemical characterization of Suvarna Bhasma, its toxicity profiling in rat and behavioural assessment in zebrafish model

Characterization of lead sulfide obtained from Naga Bhasma

BACKGROUND

Lead sulfide nanoparticles were manufactured from lead oxide using a procedure described in the Ayurveda formulary of India, which involved using a quantum of the heat of up to 60 puta, which is officially known as the Shasti puta Naga Bhasma.

OBJECTIVE

The study shows sulfurization of nanoparticles decreased their toxicity due to the lower solubility.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present work used the arsenic sulfide media and traditional puta for processing and the characterization of the same has been conducted. Different analytical techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-Ray (EDX) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermo-gravimetry analysis (TGA) were used.

RESULTS

Powder x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis, and differential thermal analysis all showed that the produced nanoparticles are lead sulfide nanoparticles with a particle size of an average of 84.60 and the crystalline average size of 69.06 nm.

CONCLUSION

The rounded, rod, oval, cubic, and circular morphology of the produced lead sulfide nanoparticles can be seen in the SEM image. The stretching and bending functional groups in the sample were alkanes, alkenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids, alkyl carboxylic acids, alkyl alpha, beta-unsaturated, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acid, aliphatic amines, primary amines, secondary amines, alkyl halides, are studied through the FTIR spectrum.

Neuroprotective effects of nanogold-based Ayurveda medicine Suvarna Bhasma against rotenone-induced Parkinson's-like model

BACKGROUND

Neurodegenerative diseases have been one of the major concerns for human health. Genetic and environmental factors are believed to be responsible for neuronal diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease. It is difficult to restore normal nervous function after neurodegeneration; hence, prevention could be the best strategy against these diseases. Ayurved medicines such as Suvarna Bhasma (SB) have enormous potential to treat these neurological diseases.

AIM

The aim of this study is to examine the protective effect of SB against rotenone-induced Parkinson's-like model in zebrafish.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, we induced Parkinson's-like disease model in zebrafish by inducing it with rotenone (7 μg/L). We examined the behavioural, proteomics and dopamine alterations of rotenone induced zebrafish of SB pre-treated group as compared to the control group.

RESULTS

The behavioural experiments showed that due to rotenone exposure, Parkinson's-like behavioural abnormality was induced in zebrafish. However, because of SB treatment, this behavioural abnormality was reduced. The proteomics study of zebrafish brains clearly showed that the SB-treated group was not significantly affected due to rotenone exposure. However, in the SB non-treated group, expression of nine proteins that are linked to Parkinson's disease (gene name: sncgb, ywhae1, ywhah, uchl1, ywhaba, psma6a, ywhabl, ywhaqb, and ywhabb) were differentially expressed after rotenone exposure. Finally, prevention of dopamine alteration in SB-treated fish brains confirmed the protective action of SB against rotenone-induced Parkinson's-like model in zebrafish.

CONCLUSIONS

This study finds that Suvarna Bhasma has neuroprotective effects against Parkinson's-like disease model.

Neurotoxicity of nanoparticles: Insight from studies in zebrafish

Nanoparticles are widely used in industry and personal care, and they inevitably end up in people's bodies and the environment. The widespread use of nanoparticles has raised new concerns about their neurotoxicity, as nanoparticles can enter the nervous system by blood-brain barrier. In neurotoxicity testing, the zebrafish provides powerful tools to overcome the limitations of other models. This paper will provide a comprehensive review of the power of zebrafish in neurotoxicity tests and the neurotoxic effects of nanoparticles, including inorganic, organic, and metal-based nanoparticles, on zebrafish from different perspectives. Such information can be used to predict not only the effects of nanoparticles on other species exposed to the aquatic environment but also the neurotoxicity of nanoparticles in humans.

Explaining Ayurvedic preparation of Rasasindura, its toxicological effects on NIH3T3 cell line and zebrafish larvae

Rasasindura is a mercury-based medicinal formulation that contains HgS (>99%). Although cinnabar ore was a well-known mineral in the past, the Ayurvedic practitioner adopted a critical and tedious procedure for the preparation of Rasasindura. Therefore, it is essential to understand the Ayurvedic process in the perspective of material science. Further, a toxicity study is also required as mercury is the main component in Rasasindura. Here, in the present study, we characterized Rasasindura and one of its intermediates (Kajjali) to understand the physicochemical changes that occur in the Ayurvedic process. Furthermore, we have assessed the toxicity of Kajjali and Rasasindura in NIH3T3 cell lines and zebrafish larvae. XRD analysis of Rasasindura confirms it as a highly pure α-HgS with size ranges from nano to micron sizes (starting from ∼80 nm). Whereas, Kajjali is a β-HgS having lower size ranges (starting from ∼30 nm). Rasasindura did not show significant cytotoxicity on NIH3T3 cell line up to 75 ppm, whereas for Kajjali, cytotoxicity was observed above 20 ppm. The higher toxicity of Kajjali is due to higher penetration of particles into the cells. However, in zebrafish larvae, even at too high concentrations (1000 ppm), both Rasasindura and Kajjali did not show any toxicity or morphological changes. This study concludes that Rasasindura is not toxic up to a reasonable concentration. Further, these two drugs did not contain toxic organic mercuric compound; otherwise, it could have been lethal to the zebrafish larvae.

Swarna Prashana - faith in the embrace of research

Childhood needs diverse nutritional requirements. Poor appetite, lifestyle changes, and poor digestion affects child immunity and make them prone to diseases. Kaumarabhritya, a branch of Ayurveda which deals in child and adolescent health care, has a unique concept of Swarna Prashana (SP) to promote generalized immunity and intellect. SP is commonly recommended to children between 0 and 12 years of age and given as a general health promoter to improve intellect, digestion, strength, immunity, longevity, and complexion. Multiple benefits of SP are mentioned in different Samhitas which needs to be explored on scientific background. Authors have highlighted content variabilities, plausible mechanisms, research tasks and potentials, lacunae, and future prospects about SP. This manuscript is a spotlight on current social, clinical, marketing, and scientific information of Swarna Prashana. SP can be a cost-effective, safe, infrastructure compatible, and prevention-centric approach to improve children's overall health status and has the potential to serve as a positive health care program for children.

Prospective Application of Nanoparticles Green Synthesized Using Medicinal Plant Extracts as Novel Nanomedicines

The use of medicinal plants in green synthesis of metal nanoparticles is increasing day by day. A simple search for the keywords "green synthesis" and "nanoparticles" yields more than 33,000 articles in Scopus. As of August 10, 2021, more than 4000 articles have been published in 2021 alone. Besides demonstrating the ease and environmental-friendly route of synthesizing nanomaterials, many studies report the superior pharmacological properties of green synthesized nanoparticles compared to those synthesized by other methods. This is probably due to the fact that bioactive molecules are entrapped on the surface of these nanoparticles. On the other hand, recent studies have confirmed the nano-dimension and biocompatibility of metal ash (Bhasma) preparations, which are commonly macerated with biological products and administered for the treatment of various diseases in Indian medicine since ancient times. This perspective article argues for the prospective medical application of green nanoparticles in the light of Bhasma.

Physicochemical Variation in Nanogold-Based Ayurved Medicine Suvarna Bhasma Produced by Various Manufacturers Lead to Different In Vivo Bioaccumulation Profiles

Suvarna Bhasma (SB) is a gold particle-based medicine that is used in Ayurved to treat tuberculosis, arthritis and nervous diseases. Traditionally, the Ayurved preparation processes of SB do exist, but they are all long, tedious and involve several steps. Due to this, there is a possibility of bypassing the necessary Ayurved processes or non-adherence to all steps or use of synthetic gold particles. Our aim is to characterize 5 commercial SB preparations from 5 different manufacturers. A comparative physicochemical, pharmacokinetic (PK) and bioaccumulation study was carried out on all the 5 SB preparations. The general appearance such as color and texture of these 5 samples were different from each other. The size, shape and gold concentration (from 32-98 wt%) varied among all the 5 SBs. The accumulation of ionic gold in zebrafish and gold concentration profiles in rat blood were found to be significantly different for all the 5 SBs. Non-compartmental PK model obtained from the concentration-time profile showed significant differences in various PK parameters such as peak concentration (C_max), half-life (t_1/2) and terminal elimination slope (λ_z) for all the 5 SB preparations. SB-B showed the highest C_max (8.55 μg/L), whereas SB-D showed the lowest C_max (4.66 μg/L). The dissolution of ionic gold from SBs in zebrafish tissue after the oral dose had a 5.5-fold difference between the highest and lowest ionic gold concentrations. All the 5 samples showed distinct physicochemical and biological properties. Based on characteristic microscopic morphology, it was found that 2 preparations among them were suspected of being manufactured by non-adherence to the mentioned Ayurved references.