Exploring the Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Antiviral Potential of Eco-Friendly Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Using Leaf Aqueous Extract of Portulaca oleracea L.
Mohamed Ali Abdel‐Rahman, Khalid S. Alshallash, Ahmed M. Eid, Saad El‐Din Hassan, Mutaz Salih, Mohammed F. Hamza, Amr Fouda
Abstract
Herein, the prospective applications of green fabricated silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) within the biomedical field were investigated. The leaf aqueous extract of Portulaca oleracea L., a safe, cheap, and green method, was used to fabricate Ag-NPs. The maximum plasmon resonance of synthesized NPs has appeared at 420 nm. The various biomolecules present in the plant extract to assemble spherical Ag-NPs with sizes of 5–40 nm were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared and transmission electron microscopy. The Ag was the major content of the formed Ag-NPs with an atomic percent of 54.95% and weight percent of 65.86%, as indicated by EDX. The crystallographic structure of synthesized NPs was confirmed by the diffraction of the X-ray. The dynamic light scattering exhibits the homogeneity and mono-dispersity nature with a polydispersity index of 0.37 in the colloidal fluid and a zeta potential value of –36 mV. The synthesized Ag-NPs exhibited promising antimicrobial efficacy toward various prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathogenic microorganisms with low MIC values of 12.5 µg mL−1 and 6.25 µg mL−1, respectively. Additionally, the P. oleracea-formed Ag-NPs showed optimistic antioxidant activity assessed by DPPH and H2O2 assay methods with the highest scavenging percentages of 88.5 ± 2.3% and 76.5 ± 1.7%, respectively, at a concentration of 200 µg mL−1. Finally, the biosynthesized Ag-NPs showed high antiviral properties toward the hepatitis A virus and Cox-B4 with inhibition percentages of 79.16 ± 0.5% and 73.59 ± 0.8%, respectively. Overall, additional research is essential to explore the Ag-NP-based aqueous extract of P. oleracea for human health. In the current investigation the use of synthesized Ag-NPs as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiviral agents to protect against pathogenic microbes, degenerative diseases caused by various oxidative stresses, and deadly viruses is recommended.