A novel approach to silver nanoparticle biosynthesis using ursolic acid from Catharanthus roseus for therapeutic effects

(UA-AgNPs) isolated from Catharanthus roseus and investigated their antibacterial, antibiofilm,
antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. The biosynthesized UA-AgNPs were
characterized using techniques like UV-Vis, XRD, FT-IR, EDX, TEM, zeta potential, and DLS. The UAAgNPs
exhibited stronger antibacterial activity than ursolic acid and AgNO3, producing inhibition
zones of 18.00 mm and 16 ± 0.3 mm against B. cereus and P. aeruginosa, respectively, which were
comparable to the activity of standard antibiotics and MIC (Minimum inhibitory concentration)
values of 6.95 and 12.39 μg/mL, respectively. The anti-biofilm activity inhibited 64.43% and
60.89% of biofilm production. UA-AgNPs also impaired bacterial motility and caused higher
protein and (Deoxyribonucleic acid) DNA leakage in membrane integrity assays compared to the
control. Antioxidant activity was confirmed by DPPH and FRAP assays, and in vivo experiments
in Saccharomyces cerevisiae highlighted significant antioxidant effects. Furthermore, UA-AgNPs
exhibited potential anticancer activity against the HeLa cell line (IC50 29.20 μg/mL) with minimal
cytotoxicity on Vero cells (IC50 5.59 μg/mL). Moreover, UA-AgNPs reduced LPS-induced Nitric
oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells. Through molecular docking studies, they demonstrated
interactions with breast cancer proteins BRCA1 and C-erbB2 and bacterial virulence proteins Hbl and
aglD. These findings highlight the bio efficacy of UA-AgNPs as a dual-action therapeutic agent with
potent antibacterial and anticancer activity, combined with low toxicity toward normal cells, making
them promising candidates for biomedical applications.