Synthesis and neuroprotective effects of the complex nanoparticles of iron and sapogenin isolated from the defatted seeds of Camellia oleifera

Figures & data

Figure 1. Infrared spectra of the sapogenin and iron–sapogenin.

Table 1. Elemental analysis and mass percentage of metallic elements in the sapogenin and iron–sapogenin.

Compounds	Carbon (%)	Hydrogen (%)	Metal (%)	C:H:M (ratio of mol)
Sapogenin	64.49	9.979	0	30:55:0
Iron–sapogenin	64.13	8.864	2.6950	30:50:0.2702

Figure 2. TG/DTG curves of the (a) sapogenin and (b) iron–sapogenin.

Figure 3. The scheme of iron–sapogenin synthesis from the sapogenin.

Figure 4. Scanning electron micrograph of iron–sapogenin at 20,000 × amplification.

Figure 5. DPPH radical scavenging activity of the sapogenin and iron–sapogenin at different concentration. Data are means of three determinations ± SD. **p < 0.01, compared to the sapogenin.

Table 2. Effect of the sapogenin and iron–sapogenin on behaviour, antioxidant levels and neurotransmitters in brain of mice.

Group	Dosage(mg/kg)	MDA (nmol/mg of protein)	SOD (U/mg of protein)	Locomotivecount	Opticaldensity	Ach (μmol/mg of protein)	DA (nmol/mg of protein)	Sapogenin(ng/g)
Normal control	/	7.55 ± 1.39^b^,c	121.20 ± 17.15^b^,c	147.4 ± 21.7^b^,c	0.114 ± 0.007^b^,c	9.04 ± 0.59^b^,c	82.65 ± 5.64^b^,c	/
Vehicle	/	13.11 ± 0.79^a^,c	90.21 ± 7.84^a	67.4 ± 15.7^a	0.038 ± 0.009^a	5.81 ± 0.28^a^,c	61.25 ± 3.53^a	/
Sapogenin	100	10.78 ± 1.06^a^,b	97.85 ± 7.24^a^,b	86.2 ± 16.5^a^,b	0.057 ± 0.008^a	7.53 ± 0.41^a^,b	66.54 ± 3.76^b	2.31 ± 0.57
Iron-sapogenin	25	9.96 ± 1.73^a^,b	103.53 ± 9.26^a^,b	89.6 ± 13.8^a^,b	0.066 ± 0.005^a^,b	7.85 ± 0.36^a^,b	67.22 ± 3.94^a	2.15 ± 0.64
Iron-sapogenin	50	9.84 ± 1.46^a^,b,c	107.82 ± 9.13^a^,b,c	93.5 ± 14.3^a^,b	0.072 ± 0.007^a^,b,c	8.04 ± 0.42^b	71.53 ± 3.74^a^,b	5.26 ± 1.15^c
Iron-sapogenin	100	9.81 ± 1.17^a^,b,c	110.17 ± 10.21^b^,c	108.4 ± 16.7^a^,b,c	0.078 ± 0.009^a^,b,c	8.26 ± 0.47^b^,c	75.27 ± 4.54^b^,c	11.42 ± 2.32^c

MDA: malondialdehyde; SOD: superoxidase dismutase, Ach: acetylcholine; DA: dopamine. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (n = 8).

^a p < 0.05 as compared to normal group.

^b p < 0.05 as compared to veh group.

^c p < 0.05 as compared to sapogenin group.

Figure 6. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry of substantia nigra sections in mice with different treatments. The photos were taken by camera in 50× magnification.