Biomedical potential of green synthesized silver nanoparticles from root extract of Asparagus officinalis

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from medicinal plant extracts has gained importance due to its pharmacological potential. In the present work for the first time, we analyzed the cytotoxic potential of Asparagus officinalis root extract synthesized silver nanoparticles (AoAgNPs) against the cervical cancer SiHa cell lines. We also assessed the antibacterial activity of AoAgNPs for the pathogenic bacterial strains. The biosynthesis of AoAgNPs was initially confirmed by visible color change which was further characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, X-ray-diffraction and Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy. Obtained results revealed that the synthesized AoAgNPs were spherical in shape and ~ 16 nm in size. The antimicrobial activity of AoAgNPs showed its potential as bacteriostatic/bactericidal agent. The cytotoxic assay showed that AoAgNPs exposure (after 48 h) have effective toxicity in SiHa cell lines with IC50 ~ 44 µg mL−1. Further the cell cycle analysis suggested that AoAgNPs accelerated the cell cycle in G1, S phase and arrest the cell division in G2/M phase. Overall cumulative results suggested that eco-friendly AoAgNPs have potent biomedical potential against pathogenic microbial infections and cervical cancer.