Eco-friendly synthesis of bioactive silver nanoparticles from black roasted gram (Cicer arietinum) for biomedical applications
Muhammad Awais Farooqi, Sungmin Bae, Sehui Kim, Sung-Eun Bae, Farzana Kausar, Hafiz Muhammad Umer Farooqi, Chang Gu Hyun, Chul Ung Kang
Abstract
Green synthesis leverages biological resources such as plant extracts to produce cost-effectively and environmentally friendly NPs. In our study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are biosynthesized using blank roasted grams ( Cicer arietinum ) as reducing agents. CA-AgNPs were characterized by a characteristic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 224 nm in the UV–Vis spectrum. FTIR analysis revealed functional groups with O–H stretching at 3410 cm −1 , C–H stretching at 2922 cm −1 , and C=O stretching at 1635 cm −1 . XRD patterns exhibited sharp peaks at 33.2°, 38.4°, 55.7°, and 66.6°, confirming high crystallinity. Morphological analysis through FESEM indicated spherical CA-AgNPs averaging 500 nm in size, with EDS revealing Ag at 97.51% by weight. Antimicrobial assays showed zones of inhibition of 14 mm against Candida albicans , 18 mm against Escherichia coli. , and 12 mm against Propionibacterium acnes . The total phenolic content of CA-AgNPs was 26.17 ± 13.54 mg GAE/g, significantly higher than the 11.85 ± 9.57 mg GAE/g in CA extract. The ABTS assay confirmed the antioxidant potential with a lower IC 50 value of 1.73 ± 0.41 µg/mL, indicating enhanced radical scavenging activity. Anti-melanogenesis was validated through tyrosinase, showing inhibition rates of 97.97% at the highest concentrations. The anti-inflammatory was evaluated by western blot, which showed decreased expression of iNOS and COX-2. This study demonstrates the green synthesis of CA-AgNPs and its potential biomedical applications. The results of this study demonstrate that biosynthesized CA-AgNPs have key biological applications.