Assessment of the Biogenic Effects of Selenium Nanoparticles Prepared from Citrus paradise Peel Extract against Bisphenol A-Induced Liver Injury in Male Rats

ABSTRACT Citrus peel constitutes an important series of flavonoids such as naringin and its aglycone naringenin that play significant roles against various physiological threats. Synthesis of nano-selenium particles (SeNPs) using a natural source as a reducing agents might have more advantages as an alternative to physical and chemical methods because it is inexpensive and considered environmentally friendly. Therefore, the objective of this study was to synthesize selenium nanoparticles from Citrus paradise peels extract (SeNPs-CP), their general characterization, and their assessment for antioxidant activities against liver injury induced by bisphenol A (BPA) in male rats. In this work, Citrus paradise peels extract used for reduction of sodium selenite (Na SeO) to reduce Se ions to Se0 confirmed by changing the colour of the solution from light yellow to red. The synthesized SeNPs were characterized by Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis spectra), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The rats (28 rats) used in this study randomly divided into 4 groups each of 7 animals; Control group, SeNPs-CP group (0.5 mg/kg B.Wt. / day /30 days orally), BPA group (50 mg/kg B.Wt. / day /30 days orally) and BPA-SeNPs-CP group. The results showed that BPA injection led to an obvious increase in the activities of liver enzymes, elevation of hepatic oxidative stress (a significant increase in lipid peroxidation concomitant with a significant decrease in glutathione content and antioxidant enzyme activities), tumor necrotic factor-α (TNF-α) and apoptotic marker Caspase-3 compared to the control group. Rats received BPA along with SeNPs-CP showed significantly less severe damage and remarkable improvement in all the measured parameters when compared to BPA-rats. In this study it was concluded that the synthesis of selenium nanoparticles using a natural source such as grapefruit was effective in combining the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of both the flavonoids present in grapefruit and selenium and increasing the efficiency of the selenium nanoparticles.