Ricerc@Sapienza

The development of pathogens and parasites resistant to synthetic drugs has created the need for developing alternative approaches to fight vector-borne diseases. In this research, we fabricated green-synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNP) using Musa paradisiaca stem extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent. AgNP showed plasmon resonance reduction under UV–Vis spectrophotometry, SEM and XRD highlighted that they were crystalline in nature with face centered cubic geometry. The FTIR spectrum of AgNP exhibited main peaks at 464.74, 675.61, 797.07, 1059.42, 1402.58, 1639.69, 2115.61 and 3445.75 cm?1. AgNP showed growth inhibition activity against bacteria and fungi of public health relevance. AgNP were a valuable candidate for treatment of diabetes in STZ-treated rat by normalizing glucose, galactose and insulin. AgNP were toxic against larvae and pupae of the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi, with LC50of 3.642 (I), 5.497 (II), 8.561 (III), 13.477 (IV), and 17.898 ppm (pupae), respectively. Furthermore, the antiplasmodial activity of nanoparticles was evaluated against CQ-resistant (CQ-r) and CQ-sensitive (CQ-s) strains of Plasmodium falciparum, IC50were 84.22 ?g/ml (CQ-s) and 89.24 ?g/ml (CQ-r), while chloroquine IC50were 86 ?g/ml (CQ-s) and 91 ?g/ml (CQ-r). Overall, we add knowledge on the multipurpose effectiveness of green-fabricated nanoparticles in medicine and parasitology, which can be potentially helpful to develop newer and safer antiplasmodial agents and vector control tools.