Green Synthesis, Characterization, Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Enzyme Inhibition Effects of Chestnut (Castanea sativa) Honey-Mediated Silver Nanoparticles

In this study, chestnut honey-based silver nanoparticles (CH-AgNPs) were synthesized at different temperatures (30, 60 and 90 °C) and these nanoparticles were characterized by different techniques such as UV–vis spectrophotometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The DPPH free radical scavenging assay was used to determine the antioxidant activity of the obtained nanoparticles. The inhibition effects of these nanoparticles for some clinically important enzymes such as myeloperoxidase and collagenase were investigated. In addition, the disk diffusion method (DDM), agar well diffusion (AWD), and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) techniques were used to determine the antibacterial activity of CH-AgNPs. In honey-based silver nanoparticle production processes using green synthesis, it was determined that the nanoparticle sizes decreased from 55 to 27 nm with an increase in temperature. In addition, it was determined that the rate of inhibition of myeloperoxidase (36.4% to 34.0%) and collagenase enzymes (74.2% to 68.7%) increased with a decrease in particle size. As a result of the antibacterial activity tests, it was observed that CH-AgNPs have antibacterial activity against all target pathogens including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The obtained results show that CH-AgNPs produced using chestnut honey have the potential to be used in fields such as medicine, pharmacy and cosmetic technology.