Bio-Templated Zinc Oxide Nanotherapeutics from Flemingia macrophylla kuntze Ex Merr: In Vivo Anti-Diabetic and Anti-Inflammatory Efficacy in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Nanotechnology has a major impact on the creation of novel and effective therapies for the treatment of several diseases, including diabetes and cancer. The current work is a report on the use of the aqueous extract from the leaves of the Flemingia macrophylla plant as a capping and reducing agent in the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs).The synthesized ZnO-NPs were subjected to characterization through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). Dose-dependent in vivo effects were investigated using Drosophila melanogaster subjected to a high-sugar diet (HSD) to induce a diabetic-like model. In vitro anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory assay, survival, locomotor function, neuroanatomical integrity, ovary and testis morphology, egg-laying capacity, and male fertility were evaluated. The most prominent UV-visible peak was detected at around 370 nm. Structural and morphological analysis via XRD and electron microscopy confirmed the hexagonal phase of the ZnO-NPs, indicating an average calcined particle size of around 47 nm at 500 degree C. The manuscript reports significant anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects in vitro and in the in vivo Drosophila model, together with antioxidant activity. The in vivo results indicate that green-synthesized ZnO-NPs mitigate adverse phenotypes triggered by a high-sugar diet and also potential as an anti-diabetic intervention and warrant further mechanistic and preclinical investigation. Keywords: Flemingia macrophylla; Green ZnO-NPs; Drosophila melanogaster; high-sugar diet; nanobiotechnology