Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Piyar Gum-Induced Silver Nanoparticles

Buchanania lanzan gum commonly known as char, achar, piyar and chironji is a naturally occurring water-soluble, edible polysaccharide derived from the bark of Buchanania lanzan Spreng. Silver nanoparticles have been synthesized using Buchanania lanzan gum exudates adopting green synthesis methodology and characterized by UV–Vis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential and particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy confirming the synthesis of AgNPs. The synthesized piyar gum-induced AgNPs are spherical in shape, small enough in size (14.74–19.86 nm) and noncytotoxic. Evaluation of bactericidal activity of synthesized piyar gum-induced AgNPs against 17 strains of 14 Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial pathogens, using agar well diffusion method, exhibited strong bactericidal activity against Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The minimum inhibitory concentration against two Gram-negative bacterial strains, i.e., Escherichia coli and Avibacterium avium, was found to be 0.52 µg/mL and 0.53 µg/mL, respectively, which was at par with that of positive control (0.5 mM silver nitrate solution).