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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

Synthesis and characterisation of Celosia cristata L. flower extract-based silver nanoparticles as effective antimicrobial agent for plant protection

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.12265
Submitted
14 October 2025
Published
19-03-2026

Abstract

Plant systems are a natural reservoir of phytochemicals that may act as agents for reducing silver ions into nanoparticles. This study reports the green synthesis and characterisation of silver nanoparticles using Celosia cristata L. flower extract and evaluates their antimicrobial efficacy against key plant pathogens: Alternaria solani, Fusarium graminearum and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. The biosynthesis involved the use of phytochemicals as natural reducing/stabilising agents and silver nitrate. The formation of silver nanoparticles was indicated by a colour change and confirmed by a surface plasmon resonance peak at 426 nm in UV–Visible spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed a face-centred cubic crystalline structure with dominant (111) orientation and transmission electron microscopy showed mostly spherical nanoparticles with an average size of 13 nm. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy identified functional groups responsible for capping and stabilisation. Antimicrobial activity was demonstrated through agar well diffusion with notable inhibition zones: 26 ± 1.00 mm (A. solani), 23 ± 2.00 mm (F. graminearum) and 21 ± 0.5 mm (X. oryzae pv. oryzae). Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) as observed in the investigation was 78.1 mg/mL (for A. solani) and 156.2 mg/mL (for F. graminearum and X. oryzae pv. oryzae). The findings highlight the potential of C. cristata-derived silver nanoparticles as eco-friendly biocontrol agents in sustainable agriculture, offering a promising alternative to conventional chemical pesticides.

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