Nanoparticles and nanotechnology developments continue to advance the livelihood of humankind. However, health challenges due to microorganisms and cancerous cells continue to threaten many people’s lives globally. Therefore, new technological interventions are of great importance. The phytochemicals present in medicinal plants are suggested as biocompatible, cost-effective, and regenerative sources that can be utilized for the green synthesis of nanoparticles. Different plant extracts with various phytochemical constituents can form nanoparticles with specific shapes, sizes, and optical properties. This review focuses on advances in green nanotechnology and provides details on reliable synthetic routes toward medically and biocompatible relevant metallic nanoparticles. We cover a wide range of applications that use phytonanoparticles with an in-depth look at what makes these materials interesting. The study also provides details of the literature on the interventions made in phytonanotechnology for the production of plant-mediated synthesis and capped metallic nanoparticles and their applications in various industries. It was observed that a variety of plants have been well studied, and detailed findings have been reported; however, the study of Phyllanthus is still in its early stages, and more needs to be uncovered.

Rubus ellipticus fruits aqueous extract derived ZnO-nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized through a green synthesis method. The structural, optical, and morphological properties of ZnO-NPs were investigated using XRD, FTIR, UV-vis spectrophotometer, XPS, FESEM, and TEM. The Rietveld refinement confirmed the phase purity of ZnO-NPs with hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure and p-63-mc space group with an average crystallite size of 20 nm. XPS revealed the presence of an oxygen chemisorbed species on the surface of ZnO-NPs. In addition, the nanoparticles exhibited significant in vitro antioxidant activity due to the attachment of the hydroxyl group of the phenols on the surface of the nanoparticles. Among all microbial strains, nanoparticles’ maximum antibacterial and antifungal activity in terms of MIC was observed against Bacillus subtilis (31.2 µg/mL) and Rosellinia necatrix (15.62 µg/mL), respectively. The anticancer activity revealed 52.41% of A549 cells death (IC₅₀: 158.1 ± 1.14 µg/mL) at 200 μg/mL concentration of nanoparticles, whereas photocatalytic activity showed about 17.5% degradation of the methylene blue within 60 min, with a final dye degradation efficiency of 72.7%. All these results suggest the medicinal potential of the synthesized ZnO-NPs and therefore can be recommended for use in wastewater treatment and medicinal purposes by pharmacological industries.

Carissa, a genus of the Apocynaceae family, consists of evergreen species, such as shrubs as well as small trees that are native to Asia, Africa, and Oceania’s subtropical and tropical regions. Most of the Carissa species are traditionally used to treat various diseases, such as chest pain, headaches, gonorrhoea, rheumatism, syphilis, oedema, rabies, stomach pain, hepatitis, cardiac diseases, and asthma. The pharmacological studies on Carissa species revealed its antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, cardioprotective, antipyretic, analgesic, wound healing, anticonvulsant, antiarthritic, adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic activities, thus validating its use in indigenous medicine systems. The review article summarised the comprehensive literature available, including morphology, indigenous uses, bioactive composition, nutraceutical, and pharmacological activities of Carissa species. A total of 155 research papers were cited in this review article. The Carissa fruits are rich in dietary fibre, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamin C, and macro- and micro-elements. A total of 121 compounds (35 polyphenols (flavonoids and phenolic acids), 30 lignans, 41 terpenoids, 7 steroids, 2 coumarins, and 6 cardiac glycosides) have been extracted from C. spinarum, C. carandas, and C. macrocarpa. Among all chemical constituents, lupeol, carissol, naringin, carisssone, scopoletin, carissaeduloside A, D, J, carandinol, sarhamnoloside, carissanol, olivil, carinol, 3β-hydroxyolean-11-en-28,13β-oilde, ursolic acid, and carissone are the key bioactive constituents responsible for pharmacological activities of genus Carissa. The gathered ethnopharmacological information in the review will help to understand the therapeutic relevance of Carissa as well as paving a way for further exploration in the discovery of novel plant-based drugs.

Chronic wounds are ubiquitously inhabited by bacteria, and they remain a challenge as they cause significant discomfort and because their treatment consumes huge clinical resources. To reduce the burden that chronic wounds place upon both patients and health services, a wide variety of approaches have been devised and investigated. Bioinspired nanomaterials have shown great success in wound healing when compared to existing approaches, showing better ability to mimic natural extracellular matrix (ECM) components and thus to promote cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Wound dressings that are based on bioinspired nanomaterials can be engineered to promote anti-inflammatory mechanisms and to inhibit the formation of microbial biofilms. We consider the extensive potential of bioinspired nanomaterials in wound healing, revealing a scope beyond that covered previously.