Green Synthesis, Characterization, and Biomedical Applications of Vernonia elaeagnifolia-Mediated Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles
J. Environ. Nanotechnol., Volume 15, No 3 (September 2026) pp. 674-689
Abstract
Plant-mediated synthesis of metallic nanoparticles has an attractive green approach owing to its sustainability, low environmental impact, and avoidance of hazardous chemicals associated with traditional preparation techniques. In this investigation, magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgONPs) were successfully synthesized by aqueous leaf and flower extracts of Vernonia elaeagnifolia, which functioned as naturally occurring reducing and capping agents. Nanoparticle generation was first evidenced by immediate change in reaction mixture color and subsequently verified through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The UV–Vis spectra displayed distinct absorption maxima at 285 nm for leaf-extract MgONPs (MgONPsLe) and 291 nm flower-extract MgONPs (MgONPsFl), indicating the formation of nanoparticles. The XRD results confirmed a crystalline face-centered cubic MgO phase crystallite dimensions between 22 and 23 nm. The SEM observations revealed mainly rod-shaped and plate-like particles for both MgONPsLe and MgONPsFl, whereas EDX analysis verified magnesium and oxygen as the predominant elements, with magnesium contents of 29.03 at% and 30.62 at%, respectively. Antibacterial, antioxidant, antibiofilm, and antidiabetic properties of both the plant extracts and the synthesized nanoparticles were systematically investigated. The flower extract produced the greatest antioxidant performance, achieving 82.15% DPPH free-radical scavenging activity and FRAP IC50 of 0.812 mg mL-1. MgONPsFl exhibited the highest biological effectiveness, showing minimum inhibitory concentration of 37.5–75 µg mL-1, biofilm inhibition reaching 64.75%, and strong inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and α-amylase with IC50 values of 22.9 and 20.6 µg mL-1. The results demonstrate that Vernonia elaeagnifolia-derived MgONPs represent effective bioactive nanomaterials with considerable potential for antimicrobial and biomedical applications, while confirming that plant phytochemicals play a significant role in directing nanoparticle formation, structural characteristics, and biological performance.
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Reference
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