Ephedra herb as a sustainable source: Insights into its role in metal nanoparticle synthesis—A review

Abstract

There are various physical and chemical techniques for the synthesis of nanoparticles. However, the green synthesis of nanoparticles, particularly the biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles using plants, has garnered significant interest from researchers worldwide. In addition to being an environmentally safe technique, green synthesis offers numerous biological applications, including antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, wound healing, antioxidant, and antitumor properties. Ephedra (ma-huang) is a valuable resource for phytochemical components that have pharmaceutical effects, such as phenolic compounds, reducing sugars, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, and saponins. These compounds, which possess antimicrobial and antioxidant effects, have attracted attention as reducing and stabilizing agents to facilitate the synthesis of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles. Various metallic nanoparticles, including silver, gold, copper, selenium, arsenic, and zinc, have been synthesized using Ephedra extracts, demonstrating antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. This study aims to investigate the green synthesis of metal nanoparticles utilizing different species of the Ephedra plant and to explore their biological applications.