Abstract:
Silybum marianum L. commonly known as milk Thistle plant ( اونٹ کٹارہ ) belongs to family Carduus Marianum has a 2000 years old history of medical significance. It was declared as a cure of “Melancholy diseases” by Greek physicians and has been reported as a ‘safe herb’ for liver and gallbladder disorder treatments as well as for protection against venoms such as snake bites, insect sting and mushroom poisoning. Silymarin is the major compound present in seeds and fruit of this plant. It is a complex of several flavonolignants and plays the key role in medicinal properties of milk thistle plant. Thrombosis is the condition of blood clot formation in vascular system leading to blockage in blood supply which can cause severe consequences. Free radicals in body can cause alterations in cell signaling pathways leading to multiple complications. A combined antioxidant and thrombolytic agent administration can have synergistic effect on thrombosis and complications related to it. The aim of this study was the synthesis of Silymarin Gold nanoparticles and to investigate its therapeutic potentials particularly its radical scavenging activity and thrombolytic activity as nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were synthesized by commercially purchased silymarin and gold salt by green synthesis. Antioxidant activity of silymarin gold nanoparticles was determined by DPPH assay using different concentrations of silymarin Ascorbic acid was used as a positive control. Thrombolytic activity was also determined by using these concentrations. Streptokinase was used as a positive control to check thrombolytic activity. In comparison to silymarin itself, silymarin gold nanoparticles have shown higher thrombolytic and antioxidant activity. As the a flavonolignant having both antioxidant and thrombolytic activity, silymarin in form of gold nanoparticles could be an effective treatment of thrombotic diseases with less or no side effects in comparison to commercially available thrombolytic agents.
