Evaluation of antiplasmodial activity of green synthesized silver nanoparticles.

In the present study silver nanoparticles (silver(np)) were synthesized from AgNO3 through simple green routes using either purified Alpha Amylase or aqueous leaf extracts of Ashoka and Neem respectively. The use of plant extract/enzyme for synthesis of nanoparticles is a single-step, cost effective and eco-friendly process. The silver(np) obtained by these three different ways were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, DLS, TEM, XRD and FTIR. These nanoparticles were found to be antiplasmodial with IC50 (μg/ml) 3.75 (Amylase(np)), 8 (Ashoka(np)) and 30 (Neem(np)) whereas plant extracts or amylase alone did not show any activity up to 40 μg/ml. Although AgNO3 was also found to have intrinsic antiplasmodial activity (IC50 0.5 μg/ml), the hemolytic tendencies appeared to be higher for AgNO3 (MHC10: 10 μg/ml) against the nanoparticulate preparations (MHC10: >40 μg/ml).