Cytotoxicity, apoptotic analysis against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and antimicrobial properties of MgO NPs green synthesized using Andrographis paniculata and Ocimum sanctum leaf extracts

• MgO NPs were chemical and green synthesized. • Andrographis paniculata and Ocimum sanctum leaf extracts were used to green synthesize the NPs. • Leaf extract mediated MgO exhibited better cytotoxicity againt MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. • Antimicrobial properties were compared. Cytotoxicity, apoptotic analysis and antimicrobial properties of chemically and green synthesized MgO NPs using Andrographis paniculata and Ocimum sanctum leaf extracts has been compared in this paper. XRD patterns confirmed that both the green and chemical synthesized samples exhibit face-centered cubic structure with a (2 0 0) preferential orientation. The peak intensity of the (2 0 0) plane decreases for the green synthesized NPs and the peaks shifted towards higher Bragg angles. The leaf extracts' antioxidants and other phytochemicals increased the green produced MgO NPs' cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. Compared to Ocimum sanctum, Andrographis paniculata leaf extract mediated MgO NPs displayed superior cytotoxicity potential. Pronounced apoptotic response associated with Andrographis paniculata mediated MgO may be attributed to enhanced cellular internalization and increased ROS generation, which collectively disrupts mitochondrial stability and activate downstream apoptotic signalling pathways. The green produced MgO NPs exhibited superior antibacterial resistance against E. coli in comparison to S. aureus . The novelty of this work relies on the comparison of the MTT assay, apoptotic analysis of MgO NPs against MDA-MB-231 cancer cells synthesized by two leaf extracts.