Synthesis of iron nanoparticles from firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea Roemer) fruits and investigati̇on of their antiox idant and antimicrobial effects

Metal and metal oxide nanoparticles produced from plant extracts through green syntheses have a significant potential to show biological activity. In this study, iron nanoparticles were synthesized from the extracts (together with the seeds) of the fruits of the Fire Thorn (Pyracantha coccinea) plant, grown for landscaping purposes on the campus of Gumushane University. Antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activities were investigated for both extracts and iron nanoparticles. The characterization of the synthesized Fe-NPs was done using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The antioxidant activity efficacy of fruit extract and Fe-NPs was analyzed using antioxidant activity tests such as ABTS●+ scavenging effect determination, DPPH free radical scavenging activity determination, iron-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), total antioxidant content (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). All of the antioxidant activity values of iron nanoparticles were higher than the activity values of the extracts. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of fruit extract and nanoparticles against gram-negative (Yersinia pseudotuberculosis ATCC 911, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Proteus vulgaris ATCC 13315 ve Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC43288,) and gram-positive (Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 19615, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 ve Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633) bacteria was determined using liquid microdilution method to evaluate the antibacterial performance of the nanoparticles. As with antioxidant activity, Fe-NPs showed higher antimicrobial activity than fruit extracts.