Antioxidant and Antifungal Activity of Lactuca serriola L. Plant and Silver Nanoparticles Against Aspergillus Species.

Medicinal plants remain a valuable source of antifungal agents, and recent developments in green nanotechnology have increased the prospects for Lactuca serriola L. as a useful bioresource. In the current study, leaves and roots were extracted by ultrasonic-assisted chloroform, ethanol, and aqueous extraction methods for the biological mediation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). Screening of Phytochemicals for extracts revealed the present secondary metabolites. Ag NPs were verified through UV-visible spectroscopy, indicating a peak at (408-423 nm) corresponding to a surface plasmon resonance, FT-IR functional groups of O–H, C=O, and C–N binding. The morphological analysis revealed an irregular-to-quasi-spherical shape, with an average size of 27.4-54.41 nm, as observed by FE-SEM. Elemental analysis (EDX) reports the presence of silver atoms, and standard XRD patterns show characteristic planes of face-centered cubic structure corresponding to the (111), (200), and (220). The results of the DPPH radical scavenging activity assay (0.625-5 mg/mL) revealed a concentration-dependent antioxidant activity of crude extracts, with notable differences (P ≤ 0.05) compared with ascorbic acid. The Ag NPs also showed scavenging activity lower than that of ascorbic acid. Crude extract shows a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value between 12.5 and 50 mg/mL. Ag NPs exhibit a lower MIC value ranged from 1.56 to 6.25 mg/mL, with Aspergillus species. In general, the results showed that Lactuca serriola L. extracts and their biosynthesized Ag NPs possess antioxidant and antifungal activity, indicating that effective alternatives to chemicals used for antimicrobial purposes are available from an environmentally friendly perspective.