SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES AND EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF LEAF, SEED AND FRUIT EXTRACTS OF SYZYGIUM CUMINI L.

Syzygium cumini L. belongs to the family Myrtaceae is one of the widely used medicinal plants in the treatment of various diseases particularly diabetes. The present study has been focused on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles of leaf, seed and fruit extracts of S. cumini and to observe their antimicrobial activity. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by performing UV-Vis spectrophotometer, SEM and TEM. UV visible spectroscopic analysis revealed the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), the final reaction product confirming the reduction of AgNO₃ to silver nanoparticles. Spherical, triangular and cubical images are observed in SEM analysis of silver nanoparticles prepared from leaf, seed and fruit extracts of Syzygium cumini. TEM analysis also revealed the formation of 5 to 20 sizes of silver nanoparticles with the presence of the layer around the particle. Subsequently tested antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles prepared from leaf, seed and fruit extracts of Syzygium cumini. Nanoparticles from seed extracts showed more antibacterial activity on Pseudomonas, followed by Bacillus, Klebsiella, Staphylococci and E. coli. Seed extracts also showed more antifungal activity against the fungi Rhizopus, Mucor, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Nanoparticles prepared from leaf extracts of S. cumini showed less antibacterial activity than the nanoparticles from seed and fruit extracts. This study makes evidence that leaf, seed and fruit extracts of Syzygium cumini acts as an excellent capping agent for the formation of silver nanoparticles and showed immense biological activities. Hence, these AgNPs can be used as an antimicrobial agent in treating many medical complications.