Green Nanoparticles: Exploring the Power of Parietaria alsinifolia

Tiny particles smaller than the width of a human hair made from iron and a plant called Parietaria alsinifolia. These aren't just any particles—these are nanoparticles, and they're being made in a way that's kind to the environment. Scientists used extracts from Parietaria alsinifolia to create these iron oxide nanoparticles (P. A@FeONPs). They figured out these particles' size, shape, and what they're made of using some clever techniques like UV analysis, FTIR, SEM, EDX, and DLS. The average size of these nanoparticles? Just over 21 nanometers. That's smaller than a red blood cell! With this size, they can do some pretty amazing things. For instance, they can scavenge free radicals, those naughty molecules that cause damage in our bodies. In fact, P. A@FeONPs showed a 72% ability to scavenge these radicals in a test called DPPH. They also had a significant potential to reduce other molecules and fight off bacteria and fungi. In tests against various bacteria and fungi, P. A@FeONPs proved to be powerful fighters. Rhodococcus jostii bacteria and Aspergillus niger fungi had a hard time growing near these nanoparticles. Even against red blood cells and different types of cells like HEK-293 and VERO cells, P. A@FeONPs showed they were safe and biocompatible. But they're not just good at fighting bad guys. These nanoparticles also have the power to disrupt the enzyme alpha-amylase, which is involved in digesting carbs, showing a 68. 66% inhibition rate. And against Hep-2 liver cancer cells, they had a substantial toxic effect, with a concentration of 100 µg/mL (IC50) needed to kill 50% of the cells. While these results are promising, there's still more to explore. Scientists suggest looking into other biological and catalytic activities, perhaps even testing them in different animal models to see their full potential.