Green synthesis of lemon peel-derived multifunctional carbon dots for Alzheimer's disease with activities of alleviating oxidative stress, inhibiting AChE and Aβ aggregation

Multifunctional carbon dots from lemon peel (LP-CDs) were synthesized via hydrothermal method. • Toxicity assessment confirmed that LP-CDs were of low toxicity. • LP-CDs reduced apoptosis and alleviated oxidative stress in PC-12 cells caused by hydrogen peroxide. • LP-CDs were found to inhibit AChE activity. • LP-CDs exhibited the ability to mitigate Aβ aggregation. In this study, multifunctional food-derived carbon dots from lemon peel (LP-CDs) were synthesized by a green hydrothermal method for relieving Alzheimer's disease, by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) aggregation and alleviating oxidative stress. Firstly, LP-CDs possessed an average particle size of 2.54 nm, and optimal emission and excitation wavelengths of 454 nm and 362 nm. Secondly, LP-CDs demonstrated good antioxidant and AChE inhibitory activities in vitro. Thirdly, through thioflavin T fluorescence analysis and transmission electron microscopy, it was preliminarily confirmed that LP-CDs had potential ability of inhibiting Aβ aggregation. Fourthly, LP-CDs could reduce apoptosis and alleviate oxidative stress in PC-12 cells and reduced malondialdehyde levels in cells. Compared with traditional single target ingredient, LP-CDs are expected to achieve multi-targets synergy with higher bioavailability, which deserves further in vivo study. Download: Download high-res image (224KB) Download: Download full-size image