Green Synthesis of Antimicrobial Silver Nanoparticles Using Edible Plants

Synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNP) using edible plants, namely Curcuma mangga Valeton & Zijp (P1), Momordica charantia L. (P2), Persicaria odorata (Lour.) Soják (P3), Litsea elliptica Blume (P4) and Gnetum gnemon Linn. var. tenerum Markgr. (P5), is considerably economical and safe. Plants and preparation methods can affect properties and bioactivity of SNP. The controlled temperature is suggested for synthesis. The small and spherical SNP obtained when biosynthesized at 37°C were evident. This study aimed to assess the ability of aqueous extracts (P1-P5) to form SNP at 37°C. The SNP were characterized and determined for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 (SA), Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 (EC) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa DMST 4739 (PA) and antifungal activity against Candida albicans DMST 5815 (CA) and Candida tropicalis DMST 15495 (CT). For the results, SNP formed using P1, P2 and P3 extracts had absorbance peak of 434 ± 9 nm. The SNP synthesized with P1 extract (P1-SNP) showed smallest particle sizes of 37 ± 0.92 nm. P1-SNP also showed the least in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC). The same values of MIC and MBC of P1-SNP against SA, EC and PA were 6.25, 1.56 and 0.19 mg/mL, respectively. While the least in MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) against CA and CT (12.5 and 1.56 mg/mL for both MIC and MFC) were from SNP synthesized using P3 extract. Summarily, plant-assisted antimicrobial SNP could be further utilized in pharmaceutical and medical applications dealt with antibacterial and antifungal functions.