Exploring the potential of a Ephedra alata leaf extract: Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity, antibacterial properties, and green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

Abdelmalek Zaater; Mohammed Oualid Serhoud; Ilham Ben Amor; Soumeia Zeghoud; Amira Hemmami; Abdelkrim Rebiai; Yacine Bouras; Ammar Touhami Laiche; Ali Alsalme; David Cornu; Mikhael Bechelany; Ahmed Barhoum

doi:10.3389/fchem.2024.1367552

Exploring the potential of a Ephedra alata leaf extract: Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity, antibacterial properties, and green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

Front Chem. 2024 Feb 21:12:1367552. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1367552. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Abdelmalek Zaater^{1

2}, Mohammed Oualid Serhoud^{3

4}, Ilham Ben Amor^{5

6}, Soumeia Zeghoud^{5

6}, Amira Hemmami^{1

7}, Abdelkrim Rebiai^{8

9}, Yacine Bouras^{7

10}, Ammar Touhami Laiche^{1

7}, Ali Alsalme¹¹, David Cornu¹², Mikhael Bechelany^{12

13}, Ahmed Barhoum¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Biodiversity Laboratory and Application of Biotechnology in Agriculture, University of El Oued, El Oued, Algeria.
² Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University of El Oued, El Oued, Algeria.
³ Laboratory of Community and Family, University of Batna 1, Batna, Algeria.
⁴ Department of Sociology and Demography, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Batna 1, Batna, Algeria.
⁵ Department of Process Engineering and Petrochemical, Faculty of Technology, University of El Oued, El Oued, Algeria.
⁶ Renewable Energy Development Unit in Arid Zones (UDERZA), University of El Oued, El Oued, Algeria.
⁷ Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Science and Life, University of El Oued, El Oued, Algeria.
⁸ Laboratory of Applied Chemistry and Environment, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of El Oued, El Oued, Algeria.
⁹ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of El Oued, El Oued, Algeria.
¹⁰ Laboratory Biology, Environment and Health (LBEH), University of El Oued, El Oued, Algeria.
¹¹ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Institut Européen des Membranes (IEM), UMR, University Montpellier, ENSCM, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
¹³ Gulf University for Science and Technology, GUST, Hawally, Kuwait.
¹⁴ NanoStruc Research Group, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Ephedra alata leaf extracts have therapeutic properties and contain various natural compounds known as phytochemicals. This study assessed the phytochemical content and antioxidant effects of a Ephedra alata leaf extract, as well as zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle production. The extract contained phenolic acids, including vanillic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, vanillin and rutin. Its total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were 48.7 ± 0.9 mg.g^-1 and 1.7 ± 0.4 mg.g^-1, respectively. The extract displayed a DPPH inhibition rate of 70.5%, total antioxidant activity of 49.5 ± 3.4 mg.g^-1, and significant antimicrobial activity toward Gram-positive and negative bacteria. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles had spherical shape, crystallite size of 25 nm, particle size between 5 and 30 nm, and bandgap energy of 3.3 eV. In specific conditions (90 min contact time, pH 7, and 25°C), these nanoparticles efficiently photodegraded 87% of methylene blue, suggesting potential applications for sustainable water treatment and pollution control.

Keywords: ZnO nanoparticle synthesis; antibacterial activity; antioxidant activity; high-performance liquid chromatograph; methylene blue dye degradation; photocatalytic degradation; plant extract phytochemical analysis.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. AB and AA express gratitude to the Egypt-France Joint Driver (Imhotep, Project. No. 43990SF), Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF, ID 42811), and the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP-2024R78) at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for their funding.