The role of antioxidants in attenuation of Caenorhabditis elegans lethality on exposure to TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles

- ROS is a major player in nanoparticles/bulk (ZnO and TiO2) toxicity.
- Natural antioxidants are capable of ameliorating oxidative damage.
- Curcumin and Vitamin C show protective role against nanoparticle toxicity.

The exponential increase in the usage of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) has raised global concerns due to their potential toxicity and environmental impacts. Nano-TiO2 and nano-ZnO have been extensively used in various applications. Thus, there is a need for determining the toxic potentials of ENPs as well as, to develop the possible attenuation method for ENPs toxicity. Both in the in vitro and in vivo systems, exposure to the majority of ENPs have shown Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation, which leads to oxidative stress mediated inflammation, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity. Hence, with the rationale of determining easy and economical protection against ENPs exposure, the amelioration effect of the antioxidants (curcumin and vitamin-C) against the nano-TiO2 and nano-ZnO induced ROS and lethality were investigated in Caenorhabditis elegans. We not only employed pre-treatment and along with treatment approach, but also determined the effect of antioxidants at different time points of treatment. Our study revealed that both the antioxidants efficiently ameliorate nanoparticles induced ROS as well as lethality in worms. Further, the pretreatment approach was more effective than the along with treatment. Therefore, our study indicates the possibility of evading the nanotoxicity by incorporating curcumin and vitamin-C in everyday diet.

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