Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Elaeagnus angustifolia L. leaf extracts and their multiple in vitro biological applications

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 20988
• Main Authors: Iqbal, Javed, Abbasi, Banzeer Ahsan, Yaseen, Tabassum, Zahra, Syeda Anber, Shahbaz, Amir, Shah, Sayed Afzal, Uddin, Siraj, Ma, Xin, Raouf, Blqees, Kanwal, Sobia, Amin, Wajid, Mahmood, Tariq, El-Serehy, Hamed A., Ahmad, Parvaiz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 25.10.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/449; 631/45; Acids; Amastigotes; Anti-Infective Agents - chemistry; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - chemistry; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Arthritis; Cancer; Chemical properties; Chemicals; Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic; Cytotoxicity; Dietary minerals; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Elaeagnaceae - chemistry; Elaeagnus angustifolia; Enzyme Inhibitors - chemistry; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; Enzymes; Erythrocytes; Flavonoids; Green chemistry; Green Chemistry Technology; Herbal medicine; Humanities and Social Sciences; Leaves; Macrophages; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Minimum inhibitory concentration; multidisciplinary; Nanoparticles; Nanostructured materials; Natural resources; Phytochemicals; Plant extracts; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Promastigotes; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spectrum Analysis; Sterols; Tumor cell lines; Zinc oxide; Zinc Oxide - chemistry; Zinc oxides; Zoology
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99839-z

Due to their versatile applications, ZnONPs have been formulated by several approaches, including green chemistry methods. In the current study, convenient and economically viable ZnONPs were produced using Elaeagnus angustifolia (EA) leaf extracts. The phytochemicals from E. angustifolia L. are believed to serve as a non-toxic source of reducing and stabilizing agents. The physical and chemical properties of ZnONPs were investigated employing varying analytical techniques (UV, XRD, FT-IR, EDX, SEM, TEM, DLS and Raman). Strong UV–Vis absorption at 399 nm was observed for green ZnONPs. TEM, SEM and XRD analyses determined the nanoscale size, morphology and crystalline structure of ZnONPs, respectively. The ZnONPs were substantiated by evaluation using HepG2 (IC 50 : 21.7 µg mL −1 ) and HUH7 (IC 50 : 29.8 µg mL −1 ) cancer cell lines and displayed potential anticancer activities. The MTT cytotoxicity assay was conducted using Leishmania tropica “KWH23” (promastigotes: IC 50 , 24.9 µg mL −1 ; and amastigotes: IC 50 , 32.83 µg mL −1 ). ZnONPs exhibited excellent antimicrobial potencies against five different bacterial and fungal species via the disc-diffusion method, and their MIC values were calculated. ZnONPs were found to be biocompatible using human erythrocytes and macrophages. Free radical scavenging tests revealed excellent antioxidant activities. Enzyme inhibition assays were performed and revealed excellent potential. These findings suggested that EA@ZnONPs have potential applications and could be used as a promising candidate for clinical development.