Green inspired synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Silybum marianum (milk thistle) extract and evaluation of their potential pesticidal and phytopathogens activities

Nazish Jahan; Kousar Rasheed; Khalil-Ur- Rahman; Abu Hazafa; Amna Saleem; Saud Alamri; Muhammad Omer Iqbal; Md Atikur Rahman

doi:10.7717/peerj.15743

Green inspired synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Silybum marianum (milk thistle) extract and evaluation of their potential pesticidal and phytopathogens activities

PeerJ. 2023 Aug 14:11:e15743. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15743. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Nazish Jahan¹, Kousar Rasheed², Khalil-Ur- Rahman³, Abu Hazafa⁴, Amna Saleem², Saud Alamri⁵, Muhammad Omer Iqbal⁶, Md Atikur Rahman⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
³ Department of Biochemistry, Riphah International University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, the Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean university of China, Qingdao, China.
⁷ Grassland & Forages Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Background: The green approaches for the synthesis of nanoparticles are gaining significant importance because of their high productivity, purity, low cost, biocompatibility, and environmental friendliness.

Methods: The aim of the current study is the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) using seed extracts of Silybum marianum, which acts as a reducing and stabilizing agent. central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) optimized synthesis parameters (temperature, pH, reaction time, plant extract, and salt concentration) for controlled size, stability, and maximum yields of ZnO-NPs. Green synthesized ZnO-NPs was characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy and Zetasizer analyses.

Results: The Zetasizer confirmed that green synthesized ZnO-NPs were 51.80 nm in size and monodispersed in nature. The UV-visible results revealed a large band gap energy in the visible region at 360.5 nm wavelength. The bioactivities of green synthesized ZnO-NPs, including antifungal, antibacterial, and pesticidal, were also evaluated. Data analysis confirmed that these activities were concentration dependent. Bio-synthesized ZnO-NPs showed higher mortality towards Tribolium castaneum of about 78 ± 0.57% after 72 h observation as compared to Sitophilus oryzae, which only displayed 74 ± 0.57% at the same concentration and time intervals. Plant-mediated ZnO-NPs also showed high potential against pathogenic gram-positive bacteria (Clavibacter michiganensis), gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae), and two fungal strains such as Fusarium oxysporum, and Aspergillums niger with inhibition zones of 18 ± 0.4, 25 ± 0.4, 21 ± 0.57, and 19 ± 0.4 mm, respectively.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Silybum marianum-based ZnO-NPs are cost-effective and efficient against crop pests.

Keywords: Green synthesis; Nanobiopesticides; Response surface methodology; Silybum marianum; Zetasizer; ZnO nanoparticles.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Asteraceae*
Nanoparticles*
Silybum marianum
Zinc Oxide* / pharmacology

Substances

Zinc Oxide
Anti-Bacterial Agents

Grants and funding

This research has been supported by the Endowment Fund Secretariat University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, grant No. RD-028-18 and also supported by the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R194), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.