Kickxia elatine-assisted Bio-fabrication of Nano-silver and Their Antioxidant, Anti-alpha Amylase, and Anti-acetylcholinesterase Properties

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is attaining more attention from researchers over chemical fabrication due to their unique properties such as high dispersion in solution, surface-to-volume ratio, low toxicity, and easy preparation. In this paper, a biogenic synthesis of Kickxia elatine-based-silver nanoparticles (KE-AgNPs) was carried out by using K. elatine plant extract (KEE). The characterization of synthesized AgNPs was done by ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses. XRD screening confirmed the crystalline nature of KE-AgNPs with 42.47 nm in size. SEM analysis confirmed the rounded shape AgNPs with 50 nm in size. FTIR confirmed the various functional groups that contribute to the stabilization and reduction of AgNPs. EDX displayed an intense peak (3.2 keV), presenting that Ag has a chief component with 61.67%. These AgNPs showed a potential antioxidant activity against 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethyl) benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS, 66.9%), diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, 72.49%), H₂O₂ (69.42%), ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP, 70.04%), and ammonium molybdenum (68.77%) at the highest concentration of 160 μg/mL. Statistical analysis showed that both KEE and their AgNPs inhibit alpha-amylase (α-amylase) in the mixed type mode, i.e., Michaelis constant (K_m) increased (16.62%–55.45% and 49.77%–134.78% for KE-AgNPs) and V_max decreased (2.68%–12.98% and 4.44%–11%), respectively. In the case of anti-acetylcholinesterase studies, both KEE and AgNPs revealed a mixed-type inhibition against acetylcholinesterase (AchE), i.e., K_m increased (13.53%–101.48% and 10.10%–38.04%), while V_max decreased (12.66%–52.47% and 11.91%–41.69%) for KEE and KE-AgNPs, respectively. Therefore, the synthesized AgNPs could be used for various purposes due to their non-toxicity, eco-friendly, and compact ability for therapeutic and diagnostic applications.