Phytogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles, optimization and evaluation of in vitro antifungal activity against human and plant pathogens

An attempt was made to synthesis of biocompatible silver nanoparticles from ten different Cassia spp. Among them, Cassia roxburghii aqueous leaf extract supported the synthesis of highly efficient and stable AgNPs. The synthesis of AgNPs was optimized at different physico-chemical condition and highly stable AgNPs were synthesized with 1.0 mL of C. roxburghii leaf extract, pH 7.0, 1.0 mM AgNO3 and at 37 °C. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by XPS, DLS and ZETA potential. DLS and ZETA potential analysis, the average AgNPs size was 35 nm and the zeta potential was −18.3 mV. The AgNPs exhibit higher antifungal activity when compared with the conventional antifungal drug amphotericin B against all the tested human fungal pathogens such as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp., Candida albicans and the plant pathogens such as Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Curvularia sp. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed distinct structural changes in the cell membranes of C. albicans upon AgNPs treatment. These results suggest that phytosynthesized AgNPs could be used as effective growth inhibitors in controlling various human and plant diseases caused by fungi.