Antibacterial Activities of Phytofabricated ZnO and CuO NPs by Mentha pulegium Leaf/Flower Mixture Extract against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

Mehran Alavi; Saeed Dehestaniathar; Shadieh Mohammadi; Afshin Maleki; Naser Karimi

doi:10.34172/apb.2021.057

Antibacterial Activities of Phytofabricated ZnO and CuO NPs by Mentha pulegium Leaf/Flower Mixture Extract against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

Adv Pharm Bull. 2021 May;11(3):497-504. doi: 10.34172/apb.2021.057. Epub 2020 Aug 5.

Authors

Mehran Alavi^{1

2}, Saeed Dehestaniathar¹, Shadieh Mohammadi¹, Afshin Maleki¹, Naser Karimi²

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Health Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
² Nanobiotechnology Laboratory, Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, leaf/flower aqueous extract of medicinal plant species Mentha pulegium was used to synthesize ZnO and CuO nanoparticles (NPs) as a cost-effective, one-step, and eco-friendly method. Methods: Physicochemical properties of both metal oxide NPs (MONPs) were determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques. Results: Phytofabricated ZnONPs and CuNPs illustrated 65.02±7.55 and 26.92±4.7 nm with antibacterial activities against antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Higher antibacterial activities were observed for CuONPs compared with ZnONPs. Conclusion: Large surface area and more reactivity resulted from smaller size as well as higher production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were considered to antibacterial efficiency of CuONPs against antibiotic-resistant E. coli and S. aureus.

Keywords: Antibacterial activities; Antibiotic resistance; Mentha pulegium; Metal oxide NPs; Phytosynthesis.