Exploring the Antimicrobial, antioxidant and Cytotoxic Potential of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Synthesized using Traganum nudatum Extract

Background: Traganum nudatum is a medicinal plant used in the Egyptian folklore medicine for treatment of diabetes. It is a rich source of phytochemicals used in the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). Objectives: This article aims to greenly synthesize ZnO-NPs using T. nudatum extract, to characterize ZnO-NPs, to study their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activity and to find new antimicrobial drugs. Methodology: The ZnO-NPs were synthesized and characterized using different techniques. The antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities were tested using well diffusion, MTT and DPPH assays, respectively. Results: The results confirmed the successful green synthesis of ZnO-NPs using T. nudatum extract that could be source of compounds like phenolics, flavonoids and tannins that were used in the nanoparticles synthesis and stabilization. The characterization techniques for ZnO-NPs affirmed their size, morphology and stability. The antioxidant activity analysis showed IC50 values of 0.088 mg/mL for plant extract and of 0.570 mg/mL for the prepared nanocomposites. The prepared ZnO NPs expressed broad antimicrobial spectrum against the pathogenic bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Klebsiella pneumonia. ZnO-NPs showed moderate anticancer potential against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer and SKOVE cells using MTT assay where, ZnO-NPs had IC50 of 3583 µg/mL against MDA cells and IC50 of 2482 µg/mL against SKOV cells. Conclusion: The prepared ZnO-NPs could be used as a precious alternative for antibiotics to treat antibiotic resistant microbes due to their potential as antimicrobial drug.