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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1605717

Biosynthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles from Cycas revoluta Seed Extract Demonstrate Significant Wound Healing, Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Cytotoxic Potential

Provisionally accepted
Hajr  Al-WadeiHajr Al-Wadei1Shifhali  MorabadShifhali Morabad2Uday  M MuddapurUday M Muddapur2*Abdulrahman  Manaa AlamriAbdulrahman Manaa Alamri1Bader  AldoahBader Aldoah1Adel  MoalwiAdel Moalwi1Nasser A. N.  AlzerwiNasser A. N. Alzerwi3Saeed  AlsareiiSaeed Alsareii1Mater  MahnashiMater Mahnashi4Ibrahim  Ahmed ShaikhIbrahim Ahmed Shaikh5*Aejaz  KhanAejaz Khan6Abdulaziz  MannasahebAbdulaziz Mannasaheb7
  • 1Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia
  • 2Department of Biotechnology, KLE Technological University, Hubballi, Karnataka, India
  • 3Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Al Majma'ah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 4Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
  • 5College of Pharmacy, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia
  • 6Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • 7Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh, 13713, Saudi Arabia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Nanotechnology is an innovative approach that involves the development, production, and application of materials via altering their shape and size on the nanometer scale, which ranges from 1 to 100 nm. Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles (ZnONPs) are metal-oxide nanomaterials with distinct physical and chemical properties that make them valuable and adaptable inorganic compounds. The C. revoluta extract was subjected to comprehensive phytochemical analysis, and showed presence of triterpenoids, alkaloids, saponins, steroids, resins, diterpenes, and coumarins. The ZnONPs synthesized using C. revoluta extract were optimized by synthesizing zinc nanoparticles at different temperatures and pH. The synthesis of ZnONPs was determined by the UV–Vis spectrophotometry, with the absorbed peak being observed at 364 nm. The characterization of ZnONPs was performed with XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and EDX analysis. The surface morphology of the ZnONPs was analyzed using SEM, which revealed their spherical nature and particle size was determined to be 30 nm. Significant peaks were observed in the XRD pattern, confirming their sphere-like structure. FTIR spectra were recorded to determine the groups of biomolecules involved in synthesis. ZnONPs' antibacterial efficacy against gram +ve and gram - ve bacteria, were positive. The ZnONPs demonstrated significant cytotoxic activity against TNBC MDAMB-231 cell line with an IC50 of 58.39 µg/mL. The percentage DPPH radical scavenging activity was 72.36% at 100 µg/mL concentration. Furthermore, ZnONPs showed significant (p < 0.001) wound healing characteristics in the excision wound model in rats with 99.29 % wound contraction on treatment Day 16. andIn addition, the ZnONPs showed increased cell migration potential in the in vitro scratch assay, highlighting their potential for wound care and tissue regeneration applications. In future, more in-depth research and clinical evaluation are warranted to fully explore the therapeutic potential of these environmentally friendly ZnONPs.

Keywords: Zinc oxide nanoparticles, Cycas revoluta, Wound Healing, Antibacterial, Green synthesis, anticancer

Received: 03 Apr 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Al-Wadei, Morabad, Muddapur, Alamri, Aldoah, Moalwi, Alzerwi, Alsareii, Mahnashi, Shaikh, Khan and Mannasaheb. 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:
Uday M Muddapur, Department of Biotechnology, KLE Technological University, Hubballi, Karnataka, India
Ibrahim Ahmed Shaikh, College of Pharmacy, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia

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