Enriched zinc oxide nanoparticles by Nasturtium officinale leaf extract: Joint ultrasound-microwave-facilitated synthesis, characterization, and implementation for diabetes control and bacterial inhibition

•ZnO phyto-fabricated using the leaf extract of Nasturtium officinale.•The extract moieties modified the shape and sizes of particles via capping action.•The interpolation of extract over ZnO was verified by various techniques.•The best performance in coping with diabetic complications was observed by ZnO#Ext.•S. aureus and E. coli were effectively removed by 0.8 mg/mL of ZnO#ext. The leaf extract of a medicinally important plant, watercress (Nasturtium officinale), was obtained through an ultrasound-facilitated method and utilized for the preparation of ZnO nanoparticles via a joint ultrasound-microwave assisted procedure. The characteristics of the extract enriched nanoparticles (Ext/ZnO) were determined by SEM, TEM, XRD, EDX, BET, FTIR, TGA, and UV-Vis DRS analyses and compared to that of ZnO prepared in the absence of the extract (ZnO). The presence of carbon and carbonaceous bonds, changes in the morphology, size, band gap energy, and weight-decay percentage were a number of differences between ZnO and Ext/ZnO that confirmed the link of extract over nanoparticles. Ext/ZnO, watercress leaf extract, ZnO, and insulin therapies were administrated to treat alloxan-diabetic Wister rats and their healing effectiveness results were compared to one another. The serum levels of the main diabetic indices such as insulin, fasting blood glucose, and lipid profile (total triglyceride, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) were estimated for healthy, diabetic, and the rats rehabilitated with the studied therapeutic agents. The watercress extract-enriched ZnO nanoparticles offered the best performance and suppressed the diabetic status of rats. Moreover, both ZnO samples satisfactory inhibited the activities of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. Based on the results, the application of Nasturtium officinale leaf extract can strongly empower ZnO nanoparticles towards superior antidiabetic and enhanced antibacterial activities.