Biocomponents
loaded silver nanoparticles of Volkameria inermis L. flowers and fruits as alternative
antibacterial and antioxidant agents
Uthayakumar Thiripura Sundari and Periyasamy Shanthi
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 20(3); 129-137;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/203rjbt1290137; (2025)
Abstract
The potential biological features of green synthesized silver nanoparticles have
made them popular worldwide in a variety of sectors. The present study aimed to
synthesize silver nanoparticles using flower and fruit extracts of V. inermis to
evaluate their antibacterial and antioxidant properties. 9 mL of 0.1M concentration
of silver nitrate solution and 1 mL of fresh aqueous plant extracts were used for
the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles. The silver nanoparticles (SNPs) were monitored
by UV-vis spectroscopy. Functional groups of compounds that are responsible for
the bio-reduction of silver ions into silver nanoparticles, were determined through
FT-IR spectrometry. The size and shape of the nanoparticles were determined through
SEM analysis and the crystalline phase was assessed through X-ray diffraction.
The UV-vis spectroscopy showed the maximum absorbance of V. inermis flower SNPs
with single Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) at 457.10nm and fruit SNPs solutions
with two SPR bands at 398.75 and 433.50 nm, indicating the spherical and square
shape morphology. FT-IR spectroscopic study of synthesized flower and fruit detected
15 and 23 major peaks respectively which represent the functional compounds involved
in the reduction and stabilization of SNPs. The size of flower and fruit SNPs was
determined as 10nm and 9nm by SEM analysis. XRD inferred the average crystalline
size of SNPs as 30.044 and 28.11nm and observed visible diffraction rings corresponding
to (210), (111), (200) and (231) sets of planes for flowers, three diffraction rings
with respect to (210), (111) and (231) set of planes for the fruits which are attributed
to face-centered cubic metallic silver. Green synthesized SNPs revealed potential
antibacterial activity against Gram-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae, Gram-positive
Micrococcus luteus, Mycobacterium smegmatis and Rhodococcus rhodochrous. They showed
strong antioxidant efficacy (DPPH) with the IC50 of 117.071 μg/mL and 100.818μg/mL.
The study concludes that the green synthesized SNPs are facile and nontoxic and
can be used as an alternate source of antibacterial and antioxidant agents.
