Seed Extracts of Cannabis Sativa Var. Narli Using Different Methods: Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles, In Vitro Bioactivity and Molecular Docking Study

Abstract

In this study, seeds of the industrial Cannabis sativa (Narli variety) plant grown in Samsun, T & uuml;rkiye, were extracted with water in both ground and unground forms. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts using HPLC-MS/MS revealed that the primary component was trans-ferulic acid. Silver nanoparticles could only be synthesized from unground seeds, which were processed by centrifugation after grinding. Additionally, the extracts and the synthesized silver nanoparticles were evaluated for total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, DNA protective, and anti-hemolytic activities. The bioactivity of the nanoparticles was found to be higher than that of the extracts. The NCSc-AgNP showed the highest effectiveness with 37.49 +/- 1.47 mg GAE/g total phenolic, 69.30 +/- 4.89 mg QE/g total flavonoid content, and an IC50 (mu g/mL) DPPH center dot scavenging activity of 1.48 +/- 0.38. The NUS-AgNP was the most effective, with an IC50 (mu g/mL) of 1.32 +/- 0.31 for anti-inflammatory activity and 1.45 +/- 0.05 for urease activity. Molecular docking was conducted to theoretically evaluate the interactions of trans-ferulic acid with the urease enzyme and AgNP. As a result, the MolDock score for the interaction of the trans-ferulic acid-AgNP complex with the urease enzyme was -248 kcal/mol, whereas the score for the trans-ferulic acid alone was -78 kcal/mol. These computational results were supported by the in vitro urease activity test outcomes.