Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Kedrostis foetidissima (Jacq.) Cogn.

Nanosilver was synthesized using the aqueous solution of solvent extracts of leaf and stem of Kedrostis foetidissima. Three different methods of formation of silver nanoparticles such as reaction at (i) room temperature, (ii) higher temperature, and (iii) sonication were employed in the present study. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer, Scherrer’s formula, scanning electron microscopy, and FTIR analysis. 1. Introduction Nanoparticles have gained emergent interest due to their superior properties with functional versatility and serves as a potential tool for treating various diseases. Nanoparticles-based cellular delivery has been extensively used owing to their properties like accessibility, high functionality, and competence in targeting specific area for the release of drugs [1–4]. Silver nanoparticles have been the core vision of research nowadays, as it is implementing new findings in various fields of pharmaceutics as antimicrobial agent due to their high specific surface to volume ratio, surface-enhanced Raman scattering and its optical properties pave a pathway to material sciences for developing biosensors, medical devices, electrical batteries, and solar cells production [5–10]. Kedrostis foetidissima (Jacq.) Cogn. is a traditional herb belonging to Cucurbitaceae family. The edible portions of the plant such as tubers, rhizome, and stem, are consumed by tribal people. As an ethnomedical plant, it can be used for treating aliments, common cold, diarrhea, and measles. The phytochemical analysis of petroleum ether extract of leaf and chloroform extract of stem revealed the presence of flavonoids, triterpenoids, phenols, steroids, and glycosides as reported in the literature [11, 12]. Silver nanoparticles are synthesized by several methods like chemical and biological methods. The biological method of synthesis of nanoparticles is largely superior compared to that of chemical methods due to its slower kinetics, better control over crystal growth, and reduced capital involved in production. Elimination of hazardous chemicals favours green synthesis as an ecofriendly method. Hence, research in this area is mainly motivated by the possibility of designing nanostructured materials that possess novel electronic, optical, magnetic, photochemical, and catalytic properties [13]. In the present study, an attempt has been made to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles using the aqueous solution of petroleum ether extract of leaf and chloroform extract of stem of Kedrostis foetidissima. The