Characterization of Amaranthus species: ability in nanoparticles fabrication and the antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic bacteria

PeerJ. 2024 Feb 8:12:e16708. doi: 10.7717/peerj.16708. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

The present work aimed at differentiating five Amaranthus species from Saudi Arabia according to their morphology and the ability in nanoparticle formulation. Biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized from leaf extracts of the five Amaranthus species and characterized by different techniques. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to identify the phyto-constituents of Amaranthus species. The nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The antibacterial activity of the synthesized NPs was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the agar well diffusion method. Spherical NPs varying in size and functional groups from the five plant species were demonstrated by TEM, DLS and FTIR analysis, respectively. Variations in NPs characteristics could be related to the phytochemical composition of each Amaranthus species since they play a significant role in the reduction process. EDX confirmed the presence of Ag in plant fabricated AgNPs. Antibacterial activity varied among the species, possibly related to the NPs characteristics. Varied characteristics for the obtained AgNPs may reflect variations in the phytochemical composition type and concentration among Amaranthus species used for their fabrication.

Keywords: Amaranthus spp.; Antimicrobial; Silver nanoparticles; Taxonomy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amaranthus* / chemistry
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / chemistry
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / pharmacology
  • Bacteria / drug effects
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / drug effects
  • Metal Nanoparticles* / chemistry
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests*
  • Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
  • Plant Extracts* / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts* / pharmacology
  • Plant Leaves / chemistry
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Silver* / chemistry
  • Silver* / pharmacology
  • Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects

Substances

  • Silver
  • Plant Extracts
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents

Grants and funding

This research has been supported by Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2024R187), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.