In this paper, we report the synthesis of gold nanoconjugates (b-Au-LM) using the aqueous leaf extract of Lantana montevidensis (LM), a naturally available medicinal plant. The biosynthesized b-Au-LM was biocompatible in both in vitro and in vivo systems. However, the LM extract as well as b-Au-LM exhibited significant inhibition of the proliferation of cancer cells. Interestingly, b-Au-LM showed enhanced anti-cancer activity compared to the pristine LM extract. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress, which triggered the upregulation of caspase-3, might be the plausible reason for anti-cancer activity. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated G2/M (in A549 cells) or Sub-G1 (in MCF-7) cell cycle arrest, which might lead to apoptosis. Together, the results support the future therapeutic application of an in situ biosynthesized gold nanoconjugates based drug delivery system (b-Au-LM) towards cancer therapy and other biomedical applications.
