M.O. Kyene, E. Droepenu, F. Aryeetey, G.N. Yeboah, M. Archer, D. Kumadoh, S. Mintah, D. Boamah
Centre for Plant Medicine Research,
Ghana
Keywords: capparis erythrocarpos, ZnO NPs, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory
Summary:
This present study reports the biosynthesis of Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using the medicinally active aqueous extract of Capparis erythrocarpos Isert for biomedical applications. The synthesized ZnO NPs were characterized with Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Ultraviolet Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. TEM analysis revealed an irregular spherical-like shaped nanoparticles with a particle size of 16.13 ± 3.6 nm. Anti-inflammatory activity was investigated using the egg albumin (EA) denaturation assay, whereas antioxidant activity was performed using a DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Antimicrobial activity of the ZnO NPs were tested against S. aureus (gram-positive), E. coli (gram-negative), S. typhi (gram-negative) and C. albicans (yeast) by agar well diffusion method. Phytochemical screening of the plant extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, reducing sugars, triterpenes and polyphenols. ZnO NPs demonstrated moderate antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 0.928 ± 0.001mg mL-1 and excellent anti-inflammatory activity (IC50 = 0.399 ± 0.005mg mL-1) as compared to the standard. In general, ZnO NPs showed good antimicrobial activity. Thus, the synthesized nanoparticles can be used as an alternative therapeutic agent.