Plant-Based Nanoparticle Synthesis for Human Health: Current Status and Future Prospects

Nanoscience and technology have promising research areas with wide applications in medicine that are beneficial to humans. Nanotechnology is an advanced technique to empower "nanomedicine," which plays a major role in medicine and health. Nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by physical, chemical and biological methods have been used in various fields and applications. However, the physical and chemical synthesis process has a high cost and toxicity for its desirable outcomes in human beings. The biosynthesis of NPs plays a major role in medicine due to its simple process and nontoxic and ecofriendly qualities. In addition, biological synthesis of NPs has been reported as a cost-effective alternative for healthcare management. Phytocompounds from biological sources are involved in reducing metal ions and manipulate the size and shape of the NPs by the physicochemical process. Therefore, green synthesis of NPs is gaining more attention in the pharmaceutical industry and it is now progressively employed in various cancer treatments. This chapter elaborates on metallic nanoparticle synthesis from plant extracts and its wide range of applications for human health.