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Review
. 2021 Sep 16;10(9):1929.
doi: 10.3390/plants10091929.

Green Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles Using Some Selected Medicinal Plants from Southern Africa and Their Biological Applications

Jumoke A Aboyewa  1 , Nicole R S Sibuyi  2 , Mervin Meyer  2 , Oluwafemi O Oguntibeju  1
Affiliations
Review

Green Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles Using Some Selected Medicinal Plants from Southern Africa and Their Biological Applications

Jumoke A Aboyewa et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

The application of metallic nanoparticles (MNPs), especially that of silver, gold, cobalt, and zinc as antimicrobial, anticancer, drug delivery, contrast, and bioimaging agents has transformed the field of medicine. Their functions, which are attributed to their physicochemical properties, have gained prominence in various technological fields. Although MNPs can be produced via rigorous physical and chemical techniques, in recent years, a biological approach utilizing natural materials has been developed. With the increasing enthusiasm for safe and efficient nanomaterials, the biological method incorporating microorganisms and plants is preferred over physical and chemical methods of nanoparticle synthesis. Of these bio-entities, plants have received great attention owing to their capability to reduce and stabilize MNPs in a single one-pot protocol. South Africa is home to ~10% of the world's plant species, making it a major contributor to the world's ecological scenery. Despite the documented contribution of South African plants, particularly in herbal medicine, very few of these plants have been explored for the synthesis of the noble MNPs. This paper provides a review of some important South African medicinal plants that have been utilized for the synthesis of MNPs. The enhanced biological properties of the biogenic MNPs attest to their relevance in medicine. In this endeavour, more of the African plant biodiversity must be explored for the synthesis of MNPs and be validated for their potential to be translated into future nanomedicine.

Keywords: antimicrobial; cytotoxicity; green nanotechnology; green synthesis; medicinal plants; metallic nanoparticles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Methods used for the synthesis of MNPs. The different methods are classified as top-down and bottom-up. Adapted from [4].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Synthesis of MNPs using plant extracts. Several plant extracts with high reductive capacity actively reduce metallic ions including silver, zinc and gold ions to their corresponding MNPs. Adapted from [20].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Catalogue of some of the indigenous plants found in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mechanism of ZnO NPs against bacterial strains. ZnO NPs exhibited remarkable inhibition of cell growth and cell death in bacterial strains following the direct interaction between the ZnO NPs and the bacterial cell surface. Adapted from [81].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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