Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Aegle Marmelos Fruit Extract: Characterisation, Antimicrobial, Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Activities

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are renowned for their exceptional chemical stability, electrical conductivity, and potent biological activities. In this study, we report a novel and environmentally friendly green synthesis of AgNPs using aqueous fruit extract of Aegle marmelos, a medicinally important plant that has not been extensively explored for nanoparticle synthesis. The biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited a distinct surface plasmon resonance peak at 474 nm and an average particle size of 12 nm, confirming their nanoscale nature. Advanced characterization techniques such as UV-Vis spectroscopy, XRD, FTIR, and SEM-EDX were employed to elucidate their structural and functional properties. The novelty of this work lies in the first-time use of A.marmelos fruit extract as both a reducing and stabilizing agent for the green synthesis of AgNPs, resulting in nanoparticles with potent multifunctional biological activities. The synthesized AgNPs demonstrated remarkable antibacterial activity, particularly against E.coli (16.23 ± 0.87 mm inhibition zone at 150 µg/mL) and C.glutamicum (12.66 ± 0.41 mm). Additionally, they exhibited significant antioxidant activity (85.67% at 100 µg/mL) and potent anticancer effects against HCT-116 colon cancer cells, with an IC₅₀ of 41.33 ± 0.19 µg/mL. These findings not only establish A.marmelos as a sustainable and effective biogenic source for AgNP synthesis but also highlight the potential of the resulting nanoparticles as promising candidates for biomedical and therapeutic applications.