Phytochemical investigation of Medicago sativa L. extract and its potential as a safe source for the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles: The proposed mechanism of formation and antimicrobial activity

Publication date: June 2019Source: Phytochemistry Letters, Volume 31Author(s): A. Król, V. Railean-Plugaru, P. Pomastowski, B. BuszewskiAbstractThe main goal of present work was the investigation of Medicago sativa L. aqueous extract as a new, safe and accessible agricultural waste source for the synthesis of zinc oxide bio-nanoparticles (ZnO bio-NPs). Secondly, the phytochemical investigation and determination of M. sativa biologically active compounds content before and during the synthesis has led to the proposal of a possible ZnO NPs plant- mediated synthesis mechanism. In this fact, the present research show the implementation of the interdisciplinary approach involving a wide range of modern and complementary instrumental techniques which have confirmed the effective plant-mediated synthesis and antimicrobial potential of ZnO nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data characterized final product as a highly crystalline and hexagonal ZnO. Results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) indicated the formation of nanoparticles and confirmed the chemical composition of samples. Moreover, our work reported that carboxyl group derived from alfalfa proteins and zinc-flavonoids/polyphenols complexes can be mostly involved in the nanoparticles formation. The antimicrobial potential of obtained nanomaterial was tested against bacteria (Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC49461, Lactococcus lactis ATCC49032 and Lactobacillus casei ATCC334 and yeas...
Source: Phytochemistry Letters - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research