São Paulo State University (UNESP), Institute of Science and Technology of Sorocaba, Laboratory of Environmental Nanotechnology, Av. 3 de março, 511, Alto da Boa Vista, Sorocaba CEP 18087-180, São Paulo, Brazil.
Research Group in Biochemistry and Toxicology in Caenorhabditis elegans, Federal University of Pampa, BR 472, km 585, Caixa Postal 118, Uruguaiana, CEP 97501-970 Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Aug 10;677:57-67. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.345. Epub 2019 Apr 24.
Sustainable agriculture encourages practices that present low risks to the environment and human health. To this end, zein (corn protein) can be used to develop nanocarrier systems capable of improving the physicochemical properties of biopesticides, reducing their possible toxicity. Neem oil extracted from the Azadirachta indica tree contains many active ingredients including azadirachtin, which is the active ingredient in multiple commercially available biopesticides. In this study, we describe the preparation and characterization of neem oil-loaded zein nanoparticles, together with evaluation of their toxicity towards nontarget organisms, using Allium cepa, soil nitrogen cycle microbiota, and Caenorhabditis elegans aiming to achieve the safer by design strategy. The spherical nanoparticles showed an average diameter of 278 ± 61.5 nm and a good stability during the experiments. In the toxicity assays with A. cepa, the neem oil-loaded zein nanoparticles mitigated the increase in the DNA relative damage index caused by the neem oil. Molecular genetic analysis of the soil nitrogen cycle microbiota revealed that neem oil-loaded zein nanoparticles did not change the number of genes which encode nitrogen-fixing enzymes and denitrifying enzymes. In C. elegans, the neem oil-loaded zein nanoparticles had no toxic effect, while neem oil interfered with pharyngeal pumping and GST-4 protein expression. These neem oil-loaded zein nanoparticles showed promising results in the toxicity studies, opening perspectives for its use in crop protection in organic agriculture.
可持续农业鼓励采用对环境和人类健康风险较低的做法。为此，可以使用玉米蛋白（zein）开发纳米载体系统，以改善生物农药的物理化学性质，降低其可能的毒性。从印楝树中提取的印楝油含有许多活性成分，包括印楝素，它是多种市售生物农药的有效成分。在这项研究中，我们描述了负载印楝油的玉米蛋白纳米颗粒的制备和表征，以及评估其对非靶标生物的毒性，使用洋葱、土壤氮循环微生物群落和秀丽隐杆线虫，旨在实现更安全的设计策略。球形纳米颗粒的平均直径为 278±61.5nm，在实验过程中表现出良好的稳定性。在洋葱毒性测定中，负载印楝油的玉米蛋白纳米颗粒减轻了印楝油引起的 DNA 相对损伤指数的增加。土壤氮循环微生物群落的分子遗传学分析表明，负载印楝油的玉米蛋白纳米颗粒没有改变编码固氮酶和反硝化酶的基因数量。在秀丽隐杆线虫中，负载印楝油的玉米蛋白纳米颗粒没有毒性作用，而印楝油干扰了咽部抽吸和 GST-4 蛋白表达。这些负载印楝油的玉米蛋白纳米颗粒在毒性研究中表现出良好的结果，为其在有机农业中的作物保护应用开辟了前景。
