Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria

Background. The effect of saponin nanoparticles from Chenopodium quinoa Willd. on MC-F7 (breast can­cer) cell lines was evaluated. The ionic gelation method with chitosan and pentasodium tripolyphosphate was used to synthesize nanoparticles. Saponins were extracted from quinoa industry residues using ultrasound.
Materials and methods. The effect of pH (5, 6, 7) and pentasodium tripolyphosphate concentration (1, 2 and 3 mg/mL) was evaluated; the treatment with pH 6 and pentasodium tripolyphosphate concentration of 3 mg/mL obtained the best encapsulation efficiency. The nanoparticles had a Z potential of –32.9 V, a polydis­persity of 0.282, and a particle size of 758.75 nm. The cytotoxicity of these nanoparticles formed in MC-F7 cells was tested and an IC50 value of 4.5 ug/mL was obtained.
Conclusion. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. saponin nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells was demonstrated using chitosan and pentasodium tripolyphosphate as a cross-linking material at a con­centration of 3 mg/mL and pH 6, with an IC50 value of 4.5 mg/mL. These findings suggest its potential high bioactivity, which should be followed by further in vitro studies on cellular and molecular effects on cancer and normal cells.