Biofabrication of gold nanoparticles using Ganoderma lucidum and their cytotoxicity against human colon cancer cell line (HT-29)

Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) is a medicinal mushroom, which is rich in flavonoids as well as polyphenols and contains triterpenes, ganoderic acid. Thus, this research examined the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) using G. lucidum fruit body and their cytotoxicity, cell morphology and apoptosis detection against HT-29 colon cancer cell line. The study results revealed the occurrence of GNPs, as evidenced by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis spectroscopy; 520 nm). The X-ray diffraction results show that the synthesized Au-NPs are crystalline. According to field-emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscope, the synthesized GNPS exhibited shapes such as spherical, oval and irregular in shape and the size ranges in between 1 and 100 nm. G. lucidum biofabricated GNPs showed inhibited HT-29 colon cancer cell line with an efficacy IC50 of 84.58 µg ml–1. The results indicated that the apoptotic effects were increased on cells based on the dose-dependent concentration of GNPs.