extraction, phytochemical screening, green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (ag-nps), and antioxidant potential of 𝐴𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑦𝑎

This study reports the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (ag-nps) using an aqueous leaf extract of aphanamixis polystachya, a plant known for its medicinal properties. the biosynthesized ag-nps were characterized using uv-vis spectroscopy, ftir, sem, xrd, dls, and zeta potential analysis. the uv-vis spectrum displayed a surface plasmon resonance peak at 425 nm, and particle size analysis showed an optimized average diameter of 39.7 nm. zeta potential was recorded at -9.29 mv, confirming colloidal stability, while entrapment efficiency reached 82.2%. functional groups such as o–h, c=o, and c–n identified by ftir analysis facilitated nanoparticle formation and stabilization. sem revealed spherical morphology and xrd confirmed a crystalline face-centered cubic structure with peaks at 38.1°, 44.3°, 64.4°, and 77.4°. in vitro antioxidant evaluation using dpph assay demonstrated superior activity of ag-nps (ic50 = 0.68 ± 0.06 mg/ml) over the crude leaf extract (ic50 = 1.57 ± 0.07 mg/ml). additionally, the ag-nps exhibited a drug release of 98.27 ± 2.76% over 12 hours and remained physically stable over three months. these findings imply that the leaf extract of a. polystachya functions as a sustainable, eco-friendly, and efficient reducing and capping agent for the production of stable ag-nps, with encouraging prospects for additional biological and medicinal uses.