Evaluation antioxidant and antibacterial activities of silver nanoparticles synthesized by aqueous extract of Pistacia atlantica

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles AgNPs were synthesized from an extract of Pistacia atlantica plant. After mixing the silver nitrate solution and extract of P. atlantica leaves, they changed its color to dark brown. UV–vis spectroscopy result showed maximum adsorption at 468 nm, which represents the characteristic surface plasmon resonance of nanosilver. FTIR spectroscopy results recorded a downward shift of absorption bands between 500 and 1700 cm−1 indicting the formation of silver nanoparticles. X-ray crystal analysis showed that the silver nanoparticles are highly crystalline and exhibit a cubic, face-centered lattice with characteristic (111), (200), (220), and (311) orientations. Composition analysis obtained from SEM–EDXA confirmed the presence of elemental signature of silver. Results also showed that biosynthesized AgNPs exhibit remarkable antioxidant activity using DPPH method with IC50 = 0.47 mg/ml. In addition, synthesized AgNPs were also found to control the growth of E. coli, S. aureus and Acinetobacter baumnnii on nutrient medium with 13, 12 and 11 mm mm zone of inhibition, respectively. The main compounds that were identified in the methanolic and the ethanolic extracts of P. atlantica Desf are ascorbic acid, gallic acid, tannic acid, rutin, and quercetin which were performed by HPLC technique. The AgNPs synthesized from the leaf extract of P. atlantica can be a good method for the preparation of various nano formulations.