ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nanotechnol.
Sec. Biomedical Nanotechnology
This article is part of the Research TopicPharmacological Advancements of Novel Natural-Based NanomedicinesView all 7 articles
Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles from Aerva javanica Leaf Extract: A Comprehensive Insights into Cytotoxicity, Molecular Genotoxicity, Antimicrobial, and Anticancer Efficacy
Provisionally accepted
- Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
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Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have a variety of biological activities and are widely used in biomedical applications. This research involved the synthesis of AgNPs from the aqueous extract of Aerva javanica leaves through an eco-friendly green approach. UV–visible spectroscopy revealed a distinct surface plasmon resonance peak at 440 nm, indicating successful synthesis of AgNPs. Transmission electron microscopy images showed spherical, well-dispersed AgNPs with an average diameter of 14.42 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the presence of functional groups, including OH and C=O, derived from leaf extract, which act as reducing and capping agents of AgNPs. X-ray diffraction indicated that the AgNPs had a crystalline nature. The zeta potential was –24.4 mV, indicating sufficient stability. The half-maximal effective concentration (EC₅₀), calculated from Allium cepa root growth inhibition, was used to select concentrations for biological assays (35, 70, and 93 µg/mL). The A. cepa assays and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) markers revealed genotoxic and cytotoxic effects, including reduced root growth, decreased mitotic index, and increased chromosomal abnormalities and DNA polymorphism, especially at higher concentrations, indicating potential biological and environmental applications. The antibacterial effects were observed against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains at 93 µg/mL of AgNPs, with the high susceptibility observed against Staphylococcus aureus even at 70 µg/mL. AgNPs also exhibited anticancer activities in a dose-and time-dependent manner against human breast cancer (MCF-7) and lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells. These results show that AgNPs synthesized using A. javanica have promising biological activities and hold potential for nano-biomedical applications.
Keywords: biosynthesis, medicinal plant, Nanomedicine, Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), Aerva javanica, Antibacterial, anticancer, Nanotoxicity
Received: 09 Aug 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alzahrani, Alrefaei, Alqathama, Obaid and Qari. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Abdulmajeed F. Alrefaei, afrefaei@uqu.edu.sa
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