Novel green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Salvia rosmarinus extract for treatment of human lung cancer

A green and low-cost approach was run to synthesize zinc nanoparticles (NPs) using rosemary extract. The NPs were identified by various methods, i.e., ultraviolet-visible and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, FE-scanning electron microscope imaging, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The radical scavenging activity and MTT assays were used to evaluate the biological activity of ZnO-NPs@Rosemary. The results revealed a spherical shape for ZnO-NPs@Rosemary with a crystal size of 30.74 nm. ZnO-NPs@Rosemary could scavenge the free radicals of DPPH with an IC of 87.62 ± 0.47 μg/mL. An MTT assay was run to investigate the anti-cancer activity of ZnO-NPs@Rosemary against PC-14, LC-2/ad, and HLC-1 as the selected lung cancer cell lines. The highest sensitivity of NPs was found against PC-14 with IC of 178.84 ± 2.13. A dose-dependent activity was observed for ZnO-NPs@Rosemary against the chosen cell lines. The outcomes of the present study revealed an acceptable anti-lung cancer activity of ZnO-NPs@Rosemary.