ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES SYNTHESIZED USING CITRUS SINENSIS PEEL EXTRACT AGAINST PATHOGENS ISOLATED FROM DISEASED TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM L.)

Abstract

Among all the noble nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles have gained boundless interests because of their unique properties such as chemical stability, catalytic and most important antimicrobial activities. This study was carried out to investigate the antibacterial activity of phytosynthesized silver nanoparticles against bacteria pathogens isolated from diseased tomato plant leaves. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized using Citrus peel extract and the formation of nanoparticles was monitored using spectrophotometer. Diseased tomato plant leaves were obtained from a farm located at Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria for the isolation of bacteria pathogens. The isolated bacteria include Pseudomonas sp. and Enterobacter sp. Antibacterial testing using the phytosynthesized silver nanoparticles was carried out via the agar well diffusion method on the test isolates. Zones of inhibition of 10 and 8 mm were obtained for Enterobacter and Pseudomonas species respectively by 100 µl nanoparticles treatment after 24 hours of incubation. This indicated that the phytosynthesized silver nanoparticles have antibacterial activity against the bacterial pathogens. Further studies should be carried out to determine the mode of action of silver nanoparticles and the potential of the test nanoparticles in plant disease management. The potential of members of the genus, Enterobacter as causative agents of plant diseases should be further investigated.