ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF LYCOPENE MEDIATED SILVER NANOPARTICLE AGAINST Staphylococcus aureus AND Streptococcus mutans- AN In vitro STUDY

Background: Nanoparticles are the basic essential element of nanotechnology and it exhibits characteristic features based on their properties such as size, morphology and other size dependent properties. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and the main carotenoid in tomato products possesses the greatest quenching ability of singlet oxygen among the various carotenoids. The combination of lycopene with silver nanoparticles has enhanced antibacterial and antioxidant property which could help in treatment of various oral diseases

Aim: The present study aimed to assess the antioxidant and antibacterial effect of lycopene mediated silver nanoparticle against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans.

Materials and Methods: The Lycopene capsule(Healthvit) of 0.5mg was dissolved and gently grounded with 100ml distilled water. Grounded lycopene was boiled at 70ºC for 15 min and filtered. Collected filtrate was used for bioreduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles.The silver nanoparticles synthesized using lycopene capsules were tested for antibacterial activity against common oral pathogens like S.mutans and S. aureus. This assessment was done using agar well diffusion method.The DPPH(1,1- diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil) free radical scavenging activity of lycopene mediated silver nanoparticles was determined.

Results: The synthesized lycopene mediated AgNPs showed comparable free radical scavenging activity to that of the standard. Larger inhibition halos was seen at concentration of 50μg/ml against S. aureus and 100 μg/ml against S. mutans. Smaller inhibition halos was noted against S. aureus and S. mutans at 25 μg/ml.

Conclusion: High inhibition was noted against S. aureus at 50 μg/ml compared to the positive control antibiotic(Amoxicillin 12.5mg/ml) whereas similar inhibition was found between S. mutans and standard antibiotic reference. The lycopene mediated silver nanoparticles also has a potential free radical scavenging activity. Hence, it can be employed in large scale production and may be used as targeted drug delivery for treating periodontitis and dental caries.