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Abstract

Fumaria indica (Hausskn.) Pugsley is a well-known medicinal herb in the Hindukush region of Pakistan. A comprehensive review of ethnomedicinal studies was conducted to document the traditional uses of F. indica for further biological screening, synthesis of nanoparticles and its efficacy against plant pathogenic bacteria. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized via an ecofriendly green route using plant extract as reducing agent. AgNPs were characterized and confirmed through fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results revealed spherical-shaped AgNPs ranging from 20 to 60 nm in size, with crystalline properties and surface functional groups facilitating stability and interactions of the particles. The aqueous leaf extract of F. indica exhibited marked antioxidant activity in the DPPH free radical scavenging assay, demonstrating a concentration-dependent response. Radical scavenging activity increased progressively from 41.81% at 62.5 µg/mL to 82.87% at 1000 µg/mL, while the standard ascorbic acid showed 97.62% inhibition. GC-MS analysis revealed chemically diverse composition of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, oxygenated constituents, aromatic derivatives, fatty acid esters, macrocyclic lactones, nucleoside analogues, and long-chain aliphatic constituents. The identified constituents included 2-cyclohexylpiperidine, octanal, minocycline, flufenoxuron, 1H-pyrrole, 2,3-dihydro-1-methyl, adenosine, 5′-amino-5′-deoxy, piperidine, celecoxib, procyclidine, dicyclomine, octadecanoic acid octadecyl ester, and numerous additional aromatic and aliphatic constituents. The antibacterial efficacy of both AgNPs and plant-extract-coated AgNPs (AgNPs-PE) was evaluated against Pseudomonas syringae, Erwinia carotovora and Ralstonia solanacearum causing bacterial diseases in tomato. Microtiter plate assays demonstrated significant growth inhibition of the experimental phytopathogenic bacteria by AgNPs and AgNPs-PE, indicating their potential as effective antimicrobial agent. These findings will help in understanding of plant disease control using AgNPs and contribute to the production of novel control agents against phytopathogens with reduced side effects compared to chemical pesticides

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