green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles using medicinal plant extracts for targeted drug delivery: a systematic review

The green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles (mnps) using medicinal plant extracts offers a sustainable approach for targeted drug delivery. this review summarizes the recent progress in their synthesis, key physicochemical properties, and biomedical applications, emphasizing the major findings and persistent challenges. this systematic review involved original experimental studies (2018–2023) on the green synthesis of mnps utilizing medicinal plant extracts, focusing on nanoparticle characterization (uv-vis, ftir, xrd, sem/tem, and dls) and biomedical applications, particularly in drug delivery. comprehensive literature searches were conducted across pubmed, scopus, web of science, embase, and google scholar, using specific keywords and boolean operators. data were extracted using a structured excel spreadsheet and quality assessment. non-english articles, reviews, editorials, and studies that lacked original or biomedical significance were excluded. this systematic review analyzed 25 peer-reviewed studies (2018–2024) on green-synthesized mnps, primarily agnps, using medicinal plant extracts as bioreducing and capping agents. the agnps exhibited diverse sizes (10–793 nm) and morphologies, and characterization confirmed their stability. most studies have reported strong antibacterial and anticancer effects, which were further improved through drug conjugation, polymer coatings, or ph-responsive mechanisms. additional effects include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, and antidiabetic activities, highlighting their biomedical potential. overall, green-synthesized mnps represent an eco-friendly and versatile platform for drug delivery. however, standardization, reproducibility, and in vivo validation remain major limitations. future research should emphasize scalable production and clinical translation to realize their therapeutic potential.