A novel approach to silver nanoparticle biosynthesis using ursolic acid from Catharanthus roseus for therapeutic effects

The present study attentive on the bio synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using ursolic acid (UA-AgNPs) isolated from Catharanthus roseus and investigated their antibacterial, antibiofilm, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. The biosynthesized UA-AgNPs were characterized using techniques like UV-Vis, XRD, FT-IR, EDX, TEM, zeta potential, and DLS. The UA-AgNPs exhibited stronger antibacterial activity than ursolic acid and AgNO₃, producing inhibition zones of 18.00 mm and 16 ± 0.3 mm against B. cereus and P. aeruginosa, respectively, which were comparable to the activity of standard antibiotics and MIC (Minimum inhibitory concentration) values of 6.95 and 12.39 µg/mL, respectively. The anti-biofilm activity inhibited 64.43% and 60.89% of biofilm production. UA-AgNPs also impaired bacterial motility and caused higher protein and (Deoxyribonucleic acid) DNA leakage in membrane integrity assays compared to the control. Antioxidant activity was confirmed by DPPH and FRAP assays, and in vivo experiments in Saccharomyces cerevisiae highlighted significant antioxidant effects. Furthermore, UA-AgNPs exhibited potential anticancer activity against the HeLa cell line (IC₅₀ 29.20 µg/mL) with minimal cytotoxicity on Vero cells (IC₅₀ 5.59 µg/mL). Moreover, UA-AgNPs reduced LPS-induced Nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells. Through molecular docking studies, they demonstrated interactions with breast cancer proteins BRCA1 and C-erbB2 and bacterial virulence proteins Hbl and aglD. These findings highlight the bio efficacy of UA-AgNPs as a dual-action therapeutic agent with potent antibacterial and anticancer activity, combined with low toxicity toward normal cells, making them promising candidates for biomedical applications.