Abstract
The advent of nanotechnology has blurred the boundaries between various fields. Development of newer, efficient, and sustainable approaches for nanomaterial synthesis has become the primary focus of research in recent years. The utilization of biological molecules as matrices for nanoparticle synthesis is increasing, with bacteria, fungi, plants, agrowaste, being common choices. Among them plant extracts are favoured biological source due to their widespread availability and diverse range of primary and secondary metabolites. These antioxidant metabolites possess reducing properties, indicating the potential for plant extracts to synthesize nanoparticles with enhanced characteristics. Moringa oleifera is a perennial, fast growing very popular plant in Asia. Since ancient times it is an important source of natural phytochemicals employed as food and herbal medicine. Moringa leaves have high number of phytochemicals like flavonoids, saponins, tannins, phenolic acids, proteins, calcium, iron, vitamins, essential amino acids, omega fatty acids and antioxidants. These facilitates eco-friendliness, and cost-effectiveness for large-scale production of nanomaterials. So far, several parts have been utilised for biosynthesis such as stem, bark, seed, fruit, and leaf. Leaves are highly exploited among all other parts for synthesis of several metal (gold, silver, copper,), metal oxide (titanium, zinc, iron) and other nanoparticles. During biosynthesis process, extracted phytochemicals are added to solutions containing metal salts. They serve as both reducing and stabilizing agents for metal ions imparting biomedical functionalities. This review presents, Moringa oleifera mediated myriad nanoparticles and their role in various applications with special focus to healthcare and biomedical field.
Keywords: Biomedical Applications, Biosynthesis, Moringa oleifera, Nanoparticles, Plant Extract.