GREEN SYNTHESIS OF ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES USING ECHINACEA AND ITS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY

Introduction: Recently, zinc oxide nanoparticles have been explored for their antibacterial, antifungal, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, antioxidant and optic properties. The aim of this study was to synthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles using Echinacea and to test its anti-inflammatory property.  Materials and Methods: Preparation of Echinacea extract, synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles, preparation of nanoparticles powder and analysis of the anti-inflammatory activity of nanoparticles were done using albumin denaturation assay. The standard used was diclofenac sodium in various concentrations. Results and discussion: The anti-inflammatory action of Echinacea extract mediated zinc oxide nanoparticles increases with the increase in concentration from 10 μL to 50 μL. Conclusions: Zinc oxide nanoparticles produced using Echinacea extract have a good anti-inflammatory activity and can be used in the future as pastes, gels etc. for topical applications, instead of using conventional anti-inflammatory agents to minimize their side effects.

• anti-inflammatory effect
• Echinacea
• green synthesis
• nanoparticles