Abstract
The green biosynthesis of nanoparticles by plant extracts is an attractive and promising technique for medicinal applications. In the current study, we chose one of the daisy plants, Aaronsohnia factorovskyi (which grows in the Najd region, Saudi Arabia), to investigate its anti-microbial efficacy, in combination with silver nanoparticles. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were evaluated for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis (Gram-positive), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli, (Gram-negative) using the disc diffusion method, while the antifungal activity was assessed against Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Helminthosporium rostratum, and Alternaria alternata. The potential phytoconstituents of the plant extracts were identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques, the Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques, and Zeta potential analysis. The current study revealed the ability of the tested plant extract to convert silver ions to silver nanoparticles with an average diameter of 104–140 nm. Biogenic Aaronsohnia factorovskyi-silver nanoparticles (AF-AgNPs) showed significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with inhibition zone diameter to 19.00 ± 2.94 mm, and antifungal activity against Fusarium solani, which reduced the growth of fungal yarn to 1.5 mm. The innovation of the present study is that the green synthesis of NPs, which is simple, cost-effective, provides stable nano-materials, and can be an alternative for the large-scale synthesis of silver nanoparticles.
Highlights
Great efforts are being made in the field of medicinal microbiology to find suitable alternatives to commonly known antibiotics, which became less effective because of the elevated bacterial resistance reported in the last decade [1]
The results showed mild mycelium growth inhibition of F. oxysporum and F. solani by 39% and 49%, respectively compared to the control, the inhibitory effect was weaker against H. rostratum, and A. alternata by 29% and 19% respectively (Table 5)
The treatment with AF-AgNPs resulted in significantly stronger inhibition (p < 0.05) with 83%, 88%, 85%, and 77% growth inhibition against F. solani, H. rostratum, F. oxysporum, and A. alternata, respectively (Figure 5)
Summary
Great efforts are being made in the field of medicinal microbiology to find suitable alternatives to commonly known antibiotics, which became less effective because of the elevated bacterial resistance reported in the last decade [1]. Many studies have shown the antimicrobial activities of some medicinal plants and herbs against different bacterial and fungal species. Of these plants, the members of Asteraceae family, approximately 23,600 species, include different classes of sesquiterpenes that proved many applicable biological activities including the anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects, as they are important chemo-preventive agents rich in antioxidants [2,3]. Aaronsohnia factorovskyi (A. factorovskyi) is a member of Asteraceae family, which includes several medicinal plants, such as Matricaria chamomilla and Helianthus annuus (sunflower) that are characterized by their rich content of sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, and coumarins, which are active constituents of interesting therapeutic importance [4].
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