Phytogenic Maclura pomifera Fruit Silver Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Activities

Abstract

Synthesis of nanoparticles using plant extracts represents an efficient, eco‐friendly, and economical alternative to conventional chemical and physical methods. This study aimed to determine the total polyphenol, flavonoid, and carbohydrate contents of Maclura pomifera ( M. pomifera ) fruit extracts and investigate their role in the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). AgNPs were synthesized using an aqueous extract, which revealed significantly higher bioactive contents compared to the methanolic extract. AgNPs formation was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band centered at 480 nm. The x‐ray diffraction (XRD) pattern showed a face‐centered cubic (FCC) structure with a crystallite size of 10.69 nm, which correlated with a negative zeta potential of –26.7 mV. FTIR identified phytochemical functional groups involved in reduction and capping. Quantitatively, AgNPs exhibited antioxidant activity with a DPPH IC 50 of 17.35 ± 1.1 mg/mL and a FRAP EC 50 of 5.01 ± 0.7 mg/mL (vs. 5.02 ± 0.8 mg/mL and 2.48 ± 0.2 mg/mL for the aqueous extract, respectively). Furthermore, AgNPs displayed dose‐dependent antimicrobial activity ( p < 0.05), with antibacterial inhibition zones from 3.7 ± 0.3 to 9.8 ± 1.8 mm and a maximum antifungal index of 33.32% ± 4.04% against Fusarium graminearum . Cytotoxicity screening against HeLa cells yielded an IC 50 of 0.795 mg/mL. Overall, M. pomifera extract serves as a promising platform for synthesizing multifunctional AgNPs for biomedical applications.