Green synthesized silver nanoparticles of Terminalia bellirica leaves extract: synthesis, characterization, in-silico studies, and antimalarial activity

Abstract

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that is caused by the Plasmodium parasite. Most of the available medication are losing their efficacy. Therefore, it is crucial to create fresh leads to combat malaria. Green silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have recently attracted a lot of attention in biomedical research. As a result, green mediated AgNPs from leaves of Terminalia bellirica, a medicinal plant with purported antimalarial effects, were used in this investigation. Initially, cysteine-rich proteins from Plasmodium species were studied in silico as potential therapeutic targets. With docking scores between −9.93 and −11.25 kcal/mol, four leaf constituents of Terminalia bellirica were identified. The green mediated silver nanoparticles were afterward produced using leaf extract and were further examined using UV-vis spectrophotometer, DLS, Zeta potential, FTIR, XRD, and FESEM. The size of synthesized TBL-AgNPs was validated by the FESEM results; the average size of TBL-AgNPs was around 44.05 nm. The zeta potential study also supported green mediated AgNPs stability. Additionally, Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) cultures were used to assess the antimalarial efficacy, and green mediated AgNPs could effectively inhibit the parasitized red blood cells (pRBCs). In conclusion, this novel class of AgNPs may be used as a potential therapeutic replacement for the treatment of malaria.

Graphical abstract

Keywords:

• Antiplasmodial assay
• green synthesis
• molecular docking
• malaria
• parasite culture
• silver nanoparticles
• Terminalia bellirica

Acknowledgments

Sujeet Singh thanks the Department of Biotechnology, GOI, for project funding (BT/PR24504/NER/95/746/2017), Hemant Arya thanks the Indian Council of Medical Research, GOI, for the Research associate (ISRM/11(35)/2019), and the Central University of Rajasthan for providing infrastructure facilities.

Welka Sahu thanks Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), GOI, for the Senior Research Fellowship (2021-13362/CMB/BMS)

Ethical approval

All authors have read and provided consent for the manuscript to be published.

Author contributions

Concept and design: SS and TKB. In-silico studies: HA, SS, BSA, MAG, and HHA. Data analysis and interpretation: SS, KBGH, MRH, and SR. In-vitro parasite culture: WS and KSR. Drafting of the paper: SS, HA, SN and TKB. Revision and intellectual critic: SN, BSA, MAG, HHA, KBGH, MRH, and SR. Supervision: TKB

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Plant sample collection

Terminalia bellirica leaves of wild type plant were obtained from Fathebad, Haryana, India. The information for the same was given to competent authority of Central University of Rajasthan.

Data availability statement

The published article contains all the data that was created or examined during this study.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India.