Eco-friendly synthesis, characterization, catalytic, antibacterial, antidiabetic, and antioxidant activities of Embelia robusta seeds extract stabilized AgNPs

Abstract

The current study is to develop an easy and eco-friendly method for the synthesis of AgNPs using aqueous seed extract of E. robusta (Er-AgNPs) and evaluated the extract to know the effects of catalytic, antibacterial, antidiabetic, and antioxidant activities. Er-AgNPs were characterized via several techniques, including UV-vis absorption, PL, XRD, FTIR, and TEM, which confirmed the formation of Er-AgNPs. The face centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure of the biosynthesized Er-AgNPs was revealed by the XRD analysis. FTIR study confirmed the presence of OH and NH functional groups of secondary molecules of seed extract capped on the AgNPs surface. The produced Er-AgNPs were dark brown in color with an almost spherical shape in size ranging from 5 to 15 nm. The presence of Er-AgNPs (1 mL) exhibited considerably enhanced dyes degradation (CY, 95.12% and EY, 97.82% in 18 min), antibiotics degradation (TC, 96.45% and CIP, 98.01% in 21 min), and nitroaromatics reduction (4-NP, 88.12% and 4-NA, 92.45% in 15 min). The Er-AgNPs showed a significant antibacterial activity on multi-drug resistance bacteria. These nanoparticles also exhibited strong antioxidant activities for the DPPH assay. Remarkable antidiabetic (α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and HbA1C) activities were noticed with the use of Er-AgNPs. This is the first report on the biosynthesis of AgNPs using seeds extracted from E. robusta.

Keywords

• Green synthesis
• E. robusta seeds extract
• AgNPs
• Surface plasmon resonance
• Catalytic activity
• Biomedical applications