Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Dye Degradation Properties of Biosynthesized Silver Nanoparticles From Artemisia Annua L.

The biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles with plant extract is a promising alternative method to traditional chemical methods. Artemisia annua L is a well-known Chinese herb for its potent therapeutic anti-malarial activity and antitumor effects. Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone derived from Artemisia annua L. Although artemisinin's anticancer effect has been extensively reported, the precise mechanisms underlying its cytotoxicity remain under intensive study. In the present work rapid and simple method for green synthesis of silver nanoparticles with the leaf extract of the therapeutic plant Artemisia annua L.was carried-out. The biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles were analyzed using spectroscopic methods like UV–visible spectroscopy. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Zeta potential, and particle size. The green Aa-AgNPs are characterized by spectral analysis by Nanodrop-UV-visible spectroscopy. The surface Plasmon resonance peak of silver nanoparticles in colloidal solution showed maximum absorption 441nm. FT-IR spectroscopy results indicate the O-H phenolic group's participation, C=C aromatic stretching, N-H secondary amide stretching, and C-H methylene group stretching. Dynamic light scattering measurements of Aa-AgNPs revealed that the particle size is between 5-20 nm. The zeta potential of the green synthesized Aa-AgNPs was found to be -26.1 mV. The high negative potential indicates long-term stability. The antioxidant activity of Aa-AgNPs was evaluated by DPPH assay. The results revealed that they have very good antioxidant activity, which can be useful as a potential free radical scavenger. The biosynthesized Aa-AgNPs of Artemisia annua exhibited good antimicrobial activity. The Aa-AgNPs showed excellent catalytic activity in the reduction of lemon yellow and orange-red food dyes. The Aa-AgNPs can also act as an effective seed germination agent. Hence it is concluded that the green Aa-AgNPs can be useful for various biomedical and industrial applications.