Comparative analysis of the in-vitro free radical scavenging properties of silver nanoparticle and Hibiscus Sabdariffa extract

Free radicals may be attributed to the cause of degenerative diseases and aging. Accumulation of these unstable molecules brings about oxidative stress which leads to oxidative damage. Nanomedicine offers a new approach in the diagnosis and treatment of various infections and diseases. The in-vitro free radical scavenging properties of Hibiscus Sabdariffa extract and Silver Nanoparticle was carried out. Nanoparticle was synthesized using biological method and the synthesized nanoparticle was characterized for further confirmation using methods such as UV-Visible Spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The result of the Uv-Visible of the nano extract showed maximum light absorption at a wavelength of 420 nm. The EDX revealed 79.52% Ag (silver) and 20.48% O (oxygen). The microscopic studies gave agglomerated spherical silver nanoparticle with average size of 65.9 nm. The XRD result shows that the silver nanoparticle exhibited a polycrystalline face centered cubic (FCC) structure with an average crystallite size of 65.9 nm. The result of the total antioxidant capacity showed a higher antioxidant capacity of the nano extract compared to the crude extract. The crude extract recorded an IC50 of 0.42 mg/ml for DPPH, 0.38 mg/ml for Nitric oxide, 0.33 mg/ml for hydroxyl radical and 0.67 mg/ml for superoxide radical. The nano extract recorded an IC50 of 6.6 mg/ml for DPPH, 0.72 mg/ml for nitric oxide radical, 0.28 mg/ml for hydroxyl radical and 0.66 mg/ml for superoxide radical. These findings suggest that the nano extract has a unique antioxidant profile compared to the crude extract,