Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO Nanoparticles Derived from Biomass (Sisymbrium Irio) and Assessment of Potential Anticancer Activity

[Image: see text] Cancer treatment development is hampered by chemotherapy side effects, drug resistance, and tumor metastasis, giving cancer patients a gloomy prognosis. Nanoparticles (NPs) have developed as a promising medicinal delivery technique in the last 10 years. The zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs can precisely and captivatingly promote the apoptosis of cancer cells in cancer treatment. There is also an urgent need to discover novel anti-cancer therapies, and current research suggests that ZnO NPs hold significant promise. ZnO NPs have been tested for phytochemical screening and in vitro chemical efficiency. The green synthesis method was employed for the preparation of ZnO NPs from Sisymbrium irio (L.) (Khakshi). An alcoholic and aqueous extract of S. irio was prepared using the Soxhlet method. Various chemical compounds were revealed in the methanolic extract through qualitative analysis. The results of quantitative analysis showed that the total phenolic content has the highest amount (42.7861 mgGAE/g), while the resultant amounts of (5.72175 mgAAE/g) and (15.20725 mgAAE/g) were obtained in total flavonoid content and antioxidant property, respectively. ZnO NPs were prepared using a 1:1 ratio. The synthesized ZnO NPs were identified to have a hexagonal wurtzite crystal arrangement. The nanomaterial was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV–visible spectroscopy. The ZnO-NPs’ morphology exhibited an absorbance at 350–380 nm. Furthermore, different fractions were prepared and assessed for anticancer activity. As a result of this anticancer activity, all fractions exhibited cytotoxic activity against both BHK and HepG2 human cancer cell lines. The methanol fraction showed the highest activity of 90% (IC50 = 0.4769 mg/mL), followed by the hexane fraction that showed 86.72%, ethyl acetate showed 85%, and chloroform fraction showed 84% against BHK and HepG2 cell lines. These findings suggested that synthesized ZnO-NPs have anticancer potential.