A green synthesis route for the production of silver nanoparticles using methanol extract from Solanum xanthocarpum berry (SXE) is reported in the present investigation. Silver nanoparticles (AgNps), having a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band centered at 406 nm, were synthesized by reacting SXE (as capping as well as reducing agent) with AgNO₃ during a 25 min process at 45 °C. The synthesized AgNps were characterized using UV–Visible spectrophotometry, powdered X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the time of reaction, temperature and volume ratio of SXE to AgNO₃ could accelerate the reduction rate of Ag⁺ and affect the AgNps size and shape. The nanoparticles were found to be about 10 nm in size, mono-dispersed in nature, and spherical in shape. In vitro anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of synthesized AgNps was tested against 34 clinical isolates and two reference strains of Helicobacter pylori by the agar dilution method and compared with AgNO₃ and four standard drugs, namely amoxicillin (AMX), clarithromycin (CLA), metronidazole (MNZ) and tetracycline (TET), being used in anti-H. pylori therapy. Typical AgNps sample (S1) effectively inhibited the growth of H. pylori, indicating a stronger anti-H. pylori activity than that of AgNO₃ or MNZ, being almost equally potent to TET and less potent than AMX and CLA. AgNps under study were found to be equally efficient against the antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic-susceptible strains of H. pylori. Besides, in the H. pylori urease inhibitory assay, S1 also exhibited a significant inhibition. Lineweaver-Burk plots revealed that the mechanism of inhibition was noncompetitive.

Different parts of Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile, Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton, Adhatoda vasica Nees, Fagoniaar abica L. and Casuarina equisetifolia L. are traditionally used in folk medicine for the treatment of a variety of common ailments like nausea, cold, cough, asthma, fevers, diarrhea, sore throat, swelling, etc. The present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-Helicobacter pylori and urease inhibition activities of extracts produced from the above selected medicinal plants native to Soon Valley (home to an old civilization) in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Methanol, acetone and water extracts of the plants were evaluated for anti-bacterial activity against thirty four clinical isolates and two reference strains of H. pylori. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extracts were determined using the agar dilution method and compared with some standard antibiotics like amoxicillin (AMX), clarithromycin (CLA), tetracycline (TET) and metronidazole (MNZ), used in the triple therapy for H. pylori eradication. H. pylori urease inhibition activity of the extracts was assessed by the phenol red method, wherein, Lineweaver-Burk plots were used to determine Michaelis-Menten constants for elucidating the mechanism of inhibition. Methanol and acetone extracts from Acacia nilotica and Calotropis procera exhibited stronger anti-H. pylori activity than MNZ, almost comparable activity with TET, but were found to be less potent than AMX and CLT. The rest of the extracts exhibited lower activity than the standard antibiotics used in this study. In the H. pylori urease inhibitory assay, methanol and acetone extracts of Acacia nilotica and Calotropis procera showed significant inhibition. Lineweaver-Burk plots indicated a competitive mechanism for extract of Acacia nilotica, whereas extract of Calotropis procera exhibited a mixed type of inhibition.