Plant-Derived Metal Nanoparticles (PDMNPs): Synthesis, Characterization, and Oxidative Stress-Mediated Therapeutic Actions

Abstract

In the 21st century, plant-derived metal nanoparticles (PDMNPs) have gained considerable interest because of their tremendous and remarkable potential as therapeutic agents as well as development of less expensive, safer, and easier biomedical equipment. PDMNPs are synthesized from metal salts or oxides by using plant extracts because plants have diversified bioactive compounds that can act as reducing and stabilizing agents at the time of nanoparticle synthesis. Besides, PDMNPs take advantages over the nanoparticles synthesized by other methods because of their low cost, environmental friendliness, and sustainability. The present review explains the synthesis of PDMNPs, their characterization techniques, and oxidative stress-mediated pharmacological effects. The mode of actions for antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties has also been critically explored. Due to the plethora of data on plant-derived nanoparticles and their pharmacological properties, we have highlighted PDMNPs’ shape, size, metals of use, and experimental findings regarding their antioxidant, anti-microbial, and anticancer properties in a tabulated form for studies conducted in the last five years, from 2018 to 2022. Because of our review study, we, herein, contemplate that the scientific community as a whole will get a greater comprehension of PDMNPs and their numerous therapeutic applications in a single window.