Plant-made silver nanoparticles show antioxidant, antibacterial and antidiabetic effects

The synthesis itself relied on green nanotechnology principles, meaning the plant extract served as the natural source of reducing and stabilizing agents instead of synthetic chemicals. When the flower extract met silver ions, the mixture produced nanoparticles whose formation was confirmed by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy showing a characteristic surface plasmon resonance peak at 418 nanometers. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy identified the phytochemical functional groups responsible for reducing and stabilizing the particles. X-ray diffraction confirmed a crystalline structure, while scanning electron microscopy revealed uniformly distributed, nearly spherical particles. Size measurements ranged from 10 to 180 nanometers, with a mean particle size of 19.7 nanometers, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy completed the chemical characterization.

Antioxidant performance was one of the earliest biological findings. In a DPPH radical scavenging assay, the nanoparticles achieved 77.88 ± 2.1 percent scavenging at a concentration of 100 micrograms per milliliter, indicating a substantial capacity to neutralize free radicals in vitro.

Anti-inflammatory effects were tested in two complementary ways. In vitro, the particles inhibited protein denaturation by 66.73 ± 2.5 percent at 100 micrograms per milliliter, a common laboratory proxy for anti-inflammatory potential. Treatment with 90 milligrams per kilogram of SA-AgNPs produced inhibition of 55.04 percent at 4 hours, 68.52 percent at 12 hours, and 85.10 percent at 24 hours, showing that the effect strengthened as the observation period lengthened.

In vitro, the nanoparticles inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase in a concentration-dependent manner, reaching maximum inhibition of 74.94 ± 1.5 percent and 80.14 ± 0.65 percent, respectively, at 100 micrograms per milliliter. In alloxan-induced diabetic mice, 30 days of SA-AgNPs treatment significantly reduced blood glucose levels and improved pancreatic and liver function, as confirmed by biochemical and histopathological analyses.

Environmental application was explored through photocatalysis, the use of light-activated materials to break down pollutants. The SA-AgNPs degraded 84.76 percent of methylene blue dye under ultraviolet irradiation within 90 minutes, and the degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics.

The authors frame the combined results as evidence that biosynthesized SA-AgNPs possess significant antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and photocatalytic properties, highlighting their potential for biomedical and environmental applications.

The in vivo antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory findings come from a mouse model with chemically induced diabetes and chemically induced inflammation, which do not fully replicate human disease. The antibacterial results demonstrate activity in vitro against laboratory strains, not clinical infections, and the photocatalytic trial used a single dye under ultraviolet light rather than sunlight or mixed pollutants. The particle size distribution, spanning 10 to 180 nanometers, is broad, and the mean of 19.7 nanometers reflects that heterogeneity, which could affect reproducibility in future studies.

Subject of Research: Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Sonchus asper flower extract and their antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and photocatalytic activities

Article Title: Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Sonchus asper flower extract with enhanced in vitro/in vivo biomedical and photocatalytic activities

Article References: Sher, A., Hussain, I., Sohail, A., Ullah, A., Ali, A., Shah, S. K., Ullah, I., Rehman, G., & Niazy, B. (2026). Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Sonchus asper flower extract with enhanced in vitro/in vivo biomedical and photocatalytic activities. Discover Materials. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43939-026-01062-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43939-026-01062-y

Keywords: silver nanoparticles, green synthesis, Sonchus asper, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, photocatalysis, methylene blue, nanomedicine, phytochemicals, Discover Materials