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Abstract The escalating demand for sustainable, non-toxic nanomaterials has driven interest in plant-mediated green synthesis routes that avoid hazardous chemical reagents. Ziziphus jujuba Mill. (Jujube, Rhamnaceae) presents an underexplored system despite its phytochemical diversity flavonoids (quercetin, rutin, and luteolin), phenolic acids (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid), triterpenoids (betulinic acid, oleanolic acid), vitamin C, alpha-tocopherol, and polysaccharides that collectively satisfy the mechanistic requirements for nanoparticle synthesis. This review applies a structured literature search strategy (Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed; 2015–2025) to critically examine Z. jujuba -mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) via phytoreduction and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) via bio-mediated co-precipitation and thermal decomposition. The review covers: (i) the phytochemical basis and mechanistic pathways of synthesis; (ii) the influence of synthesis parameters precursor concentration, extract ratio, pH, temperature, reaction time, and calcination temperature on nanoparticle properties; (iii) characterization by UV-Vis, XRD, FTIR, SEM/TEM, DLS, and zeta potential; and (iv) applications including antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, photocatalytic dye degradation, antioxidant activity, anticancer potential, and biosensing. A critical evaluation across studies reveals substantial variability in reported particle size (8–90 nm for ZnO NPs depending on synthesis route) that has not been systematically attributed to calcination temperature, extract ratio, or phytochemical batch variation. The review identifies that no published study has performed a controlled, same-batch synthesis of both AgNPs and ZnO NPs from Z. jujuba extract with direct mechanistic and functional comparison. This gap, together with the limited calcination-temperature optimization, scale-up data, ecotoxicological assessment, and in vitro cytotoxicity profiling, defines priority directions for future research in this field.
Umar et al. (Mon,) studied this question.