Lycium shawii mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles, characterization and assessments of their phytochemical, antioxidant, antimicrobial properties

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThe shrub Lycium shawii belongs to the Solanaceae family, formerly used by ancestors to cure different illnesses. Dried leaves of Lycium shawii were used for extraction by maceration method in distilled water and methanol. Qualitative and quantitative estimation of phytochemicals were carried out in crude extracts. Plant-based silver nanoparticles have been praised over past decades as it is economical, environment-friendly, non-pathogenic, and undemanding. This study includes the synthesis of silver nanoparticles using crude leaf extract of Lycium shawii, their characterization, and exploited for different biological activities.FINDINGS: In phytochemical analysis, the total phenolic content in the methanolic extract was 11.11 mg Gallic acid/g, and the total flavonoid content was 7.76 mg Quercetin/g. The average size of aqueous-silver-nanoparticles and methanolic-silver-nanoparticles was 64 nm and 79 nm, respectively. Crude extracts and nanoparticles showed remarkable antimicrobial potential against the gram-negative bacteria Salmonella enterica and fungi Rhizopus oryzae. The antioxidant potential of methanolic extract and MeOH-AgNPs manifests more significant activity than aqueous extract and Aq-AgNPs. Minimum inhibitory concentration was observed in a range of 1 mg/ml to 15 mg/ml against different microbes. The observed MIC clearly indicated that the synthesized nanoparticles have strong antimicrobial potential. Hence can be used as a good source for the development of new drugs against resistant microbes. CONCLUSIONIn the era of increased antibiotic resistance, the Lycium shawii-mediated silver nanoparticle shows remarkable antimicrobial and significant antioxidant potential. These nanoparticles can be used alone or in combination with antibiotics to combat the effect of multidrug-resistant pathogens. Regarding the novelty, probably this is the first study highlighting the different biological activity of Lycium shawii-mediated silver nanoparticles.