Green synthesis of iron oxide and silver metal nanoparticles from the roots of Ferula Gummosa and investigation of their antimicrobial properties

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Biology, Ardabil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardabil, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, Islamic Azad University, Faculty of Chemistry, Ardabil, Iran

3 Department of Biology, Ardabil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardabil, Iran

10.22103/jab.2025.24522.1636

Abstract

Objective
Ferula gummosa is a stable, self-sufficient perennial herb of the Apiaceae family, known for its medicinal compounds such as flavonoids with antioxidant and anticancer properties. These compounds play a vital role in the green synthesis of metal nanoparticles due to their redox activity. This study focused on synthesizing iron oxide and silver nanoparticles using aqueous extract of F. gummosa and evaluating their antibacterial properties along with those of the plant extract.
Materials and methods
Green synthesis of silver and iron oxide nanoparticles was performed using F. gummosa extract. UV-Vis, FTIR, and XRD spectroscopy confirmed nanoparticle formation. Morphology, size, and surface charge were assessed using TEM and DLS. Antibacterial activity was tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on solid LB medium using nanoparticle concentrations of 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg, incubated at 37 °C for 24 hours.
Results
The results of UV-Vis, FTIR, and XRD spectroscopy showed that iron oxide and silver nanoparticles were successfully synthesized from the extract of the F. gummosa plant. TEM images showed silver nanoparticles had multifaceted structures while iron oxide nanoparticles were spherical. Their sizes were 16 nm and 35 nm, and surface charges were -23 mV and -18 mV, respectively. Antimicrobial tests revealed that both silver nanoparticles and the plant extract had effective antibacterial activity, whereas iron oxide nanoparticles showed negligible effects below 1 mg. MIC and MBC tests showed silver nanoparticles inhibited E. coli and S. aureus at 2.5 and 5 mg, respectively, while the plant extract required 5 mg/ml to inhibit both bacteria.
Conclusions
According to the results obtained, a significant difference was observed between the aqueous extract of the F. gummosa plant and the green synthetic silver nanoparticles prepared from it in terms of antibacterial activity. However, the antibacterial properties of the aqueous extract of the F. gummosa plant and silver nanoparticles were significantly higher than those of iron oxide nanoparticles.

Keywords

References

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Agricultural Biotechnology Journal
Volume 17, Issue 3
August 2025
Pages 1-26

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