Glucose reduced nano-Se mitigates Cu-induced ROS by upregulating antioxidant genes in zebrafish larvae

Abstract

This study compares the therapeutic efficiency of bovine serum albumin-stabilized selenium nanoparticles in reducing oxidative stress and improving cellular health. The nanoparticles were synthesized using mussel-extracted selenium with two reducing agents: D-glucose and orange. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed the presence of selenium. The reducing agent and duration influenced the nanoparticle size. Reduction with D-glucose for 1 hour revealed that the particles exhibited an average size of 10 nm. Copper sulfate-induced malformations such as yolk sac and pericardial edema were observed with 25 μg ml⁻¹ of orange-reduced nanoparticles, while D-glucose-reduced nanoparticles mitigated these malformations at 25 μg ml⁻¹. Treatment with stabilized Se-NPs reduced with D-glucose for 30 minutes showed 33% dose-dependent radical scavenging activities, upregulated approximately 2-fold of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase encoding genes and restored homeostasis by decreasing lipid peroxidation (27.32 nmol mg⁻¹ ml⁻¹) and nitric oxide levels (6.71 μM). They also had the potential to restore cognitive properties such as larval movement (93.40 m) without altering larval behaviour. Live cell imaging indicated a significant decrease in cellular reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation levels in the gut and liver. These findings suggest that Se-NPs reduced for 30 minutes with D-glucose are promising candidates for oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration.