Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Lagenaira breviflora aqueous fruit extract and its antimicrobial activity

Green synthesis involves eco-friendly approaches to producing materials, including nanoparticles. It is gaining more interest due to its affordability and renewability. In this study ZnONPs was synthesized using aqueous extract of Lagenaria breviflora fruit and assessed for it antimicrobial activities. The Aqueous extract of Lagenaria breviflora fruit was obtained by simple solvent extraction with double distilled water and the extract obtained was used as reductant in the synthesis of ZnONPs via a one pot facial synthetic pathway. The synthesized ZnONPs were characterized using UV-VIS, FTIR, XRD and SEM. The ZnONPs were further screened for their Antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger using the well-diffusion method. Phytochemical screen carried out on the aqueous extract showed the presence of alkaloids, tannnis, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and carotenoids. A UV-vis peak of 357nm was observed for the ZnONPs, FTIR results showed the presence of -OH, -NH, -CH, -C=O, -C=C and -CO functional groups. XRD data confirmed the particles to be crystalline, with average crystallite size of 17.33 nm and the SEM result showed that the crystalline particles are spherical with an average particle size of 82.10nm. The antimicrobial screening of the synthesized ZnONPs showed average inhibition zones of 11mm, 11mm, 12mm, 10mm and 9mm for Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger respectively. The synthesized ZnONPs showed better activity toward tested micro-organisms compared to the crude aqueous extract. ZnONPs as observed in comparison with the controls Ciprofloxacin and fluconazole can served as potential substitute.