Marasmius oreades Mediated Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis: An Ecofriendly Tool against Anopheles stephensi and its Effect on Predatory Copepods

Abstract

Malaria remains a decisive problem for public health due to the emergence and spread of Plasmodium falciparum strains resistant to chemical drug all over the world. There is an insistent to investigate new and valuable sources of antimalarial drugs. This research fabricated a novel method of mushroom-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) using a cheap mushroom extract of Marasmius oreades, acting as a reducing and capping agent. AgNP were characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In mosquitocidal assays, LC50 of M.oreades mushroom extract against Anopheles stephensi ranged from 50.0 (larva I) to 110.1 ppm (pupa). LC50 of M.oreades -synthesized AgNP ranged from 3.917 (larva I) to 9.704 ppm (pupa). LC50 of M.oreades -synthesized nanoencapsulated AgNP ranged from 3.055 (larva I) to 8.934 ppm (pupa). Furthermore, the antiplasmodial activity of M.oreades mushroom extract and green-synthesized AgNP was evaluated against CQ-resistant (CQ-r) and CQ-sensitive (CQ-s) strains of P. falciparum. IC50 of M.oreades was 65.78 μg/mL (CQ-s) and 69.67 μg/mL (CQ r); M.oreades -synthesized AgNP achieved IC50 of 43.54 μg/mL (CQ-s) and 48.13 μg/ml (CQ-r). The AgNP did not show evidence of any noticeable toxicity on Cyclops bicuspidatus after 5 days of exposure. Overall, the outcome highlighted that mushroom-synthesized AgNP could be candidated as a new tool against P. falciparum and diverse developmental instars of its primary vector An. stephensi.