Evaluation of the anti-rheumatic properties of thymol using carbon dots as nanocarriers on FCA induced arthritic rats

Autor: Dinesh Kumar Lakshmanan, Sivasudha Thilagar, Sasidharan Jayabal, Venkatesan Srinivasan, Mariadoss Asha Jhonsi, Arunkumar Kathiravan, Selvakumar Murugesan, Sureshkumar Periyasamy, Meenakshi R. Venkateswaran, M. S. A. Muthukumar Nadar
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Foodfunction. 12(11)
ISSN: 2042-650X
Popis: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that commences as inflammation and progressively destroys the articular joint. In this study, we assess the anti-rheumatic potential of the monoterpenoid class of thymol conjugated with Carbon Dots (CDs). Waste biomass in the form of dried rose petals was chosen as a precursor for the synthesis of CDs via a one-step hydrothermal bottom-up methodology. The prepared CDs exhibited absorption in the near-visible region, and unique excitation-dependent emission behaviour was confirmed from UV-Visible and fluorescence measurements. The surface morphology of CDs was confirmed by SEM and HR-TEM analysis to be quasi-spherical particles with an average size of ∼5–6 nm. The presence of various functional moieties (hydroxyl, carbonyl, and amino) was confirmed via FT-IR measurement. The graphitization of CDs was confirmed by the D and G bands for sp2 and sp3 hybridization, respectively, through Raman analysis. Esterification methodology was adopted to prepare the CDs–thymol conjugate and confirmed via FT-IR analysis. CDs play the role of a nanocarrier for thymol, an anti-arthritic agent. The bioactive compound of thymol showed potent anti-arthritic activity against RA targets through in silico docking studies. Further, the in vivo studies revealed that CDs–thymol conjugates (10 mg per kg body weight) showed a significant reduction in rat paw volume along with reduced levels of RF and CRP (2.23 ± 0.42 IU ml−1 and 16.96 ± 0.22 mg ml−1) when compared to the disease control rats. X-ray radiography and ultrasonic imaging revealed less bone destruction, joint derangement, and swelling in arthritis-induced Wistar rats. They could also potentially improve the Hb (14.14 ± 0.19), RBC (6.01 ± 0.11), PCV (6.01 ± 0.11) levels and elevate the status of antioxidant enzymes (GPx, SOD, MDA), and the activity was comparable to the standard drug, ibuprofen (10 mg kg−1), suggesting that the CDs–thymol conjugate at 10 mg kg−1 could act as a strong anti-arthritic agent. This work is evidence for the utilization of waste biomass as a value-added product such as a nanocarrier for biomedical applications.
Databáze: OpenAIRE