Energy-efficient synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using White Ash Gourd Fruit Extract for their medicinal and environmental applications

Abstract

This work reported the green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) using white ash gourd fruit juice. The synthesized NPs were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques like UV–visible, FTIR, Powder XRD and FE-SEM. These NPs displayed a prominent absorbance at 357 nm in UV–visible spectra. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the formation of crystalline ZnO NPs with the wurtzite phase. The average particle size (D) of the synthesized ZnO NPs is found to be 40.48 nm. FE-SEM images revealed that synthesized ZnO NPs have nano-flaky structures. The prepared ZnO NPs achieved 99% photodegradation efficiency against MB dye in 90 min of irradiation of UV light. These synthesized NPs were also examined for three biological activities: Antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-diabetic. Antimicrobial activity was found to be good to moderate. The synthesized ZnO NPs showed excellent anti-diabetic activity (α-amylase activity) compared to standard with IC₅₀ value equal to 1.21µg/mL. For α-glucosidase, green synthesized ZnO NPs (IC₅₀ value 0.23 µg/mL) exhibited excellent inhibition activity compared to standard Acarbose (IC₅₀ value 0.24 µg/mL). ZnO NPs showed better antioxidant capability as well.