Developments and Assessments of Crude Tea Saponin-Incorporated Silica Nanoparticles for Their Bioactivity Improvement

Abstract

The use of saponins with biosurfactant, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties is limited by their toxicity and bioavailability. This study focused on the fabrication, characterization, and bioactivity of crude tea saponin (TS) and TS-incorporated silica nanoparticles (TSNPs). Our results showed that TS contained seven saponins and that TSNPs had an average diameter of 200–300 nm, a negative surface charge, and high polydispersity. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed an incorporation bond of Si-O- and -OH controlling releasing behavior with t50 = 24 h. Using HaCaT cells, it was demonstrated that TSNPs reduced cytotoxicity. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was lowered in both TS and TSNP treatments, with significantly greater efficacy at higher concentrations. Additionally, TSNPs significantly accelerated cell migration in the wound closure model as efficiently as TGFβ. Together, these findings offer promising TSNPs for biomedical applications and therapeutic agents due to their antioxidant properties, cytotoxicity protection, and wound closure acceleration. © 2025 by the authors.