Cissus aralioides Leaf: Cosmetological Application of the Methanol extract, Its Silver and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Characterization

Abstract In this study, Cissus aralioides leaf was extracted with methanol through Soxhlet extraction. The methanol extract was utilized in the biosynthesis of silver, and zinc nanoparticles (NPs). The nanoparticles were characterized using Ultraviolet-Vsible (UV-vis), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Powered X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) instruments, before being utilized in soap formulation. Physicochemical characterization was carried on the soaps formulated with the plant's methanol extract, its Ag, and ZnO NPs, to assess their organoleptic properties, pH, moisture content, foaming index, total fatty matter (TFM), and saponification values (SV). A commercial soap was used as control. Then, antimicrobial study was carried out with the soaps by agar well diffusion method against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans, at 100, 200, 300, and 400 mg/mL. The NPs was confirmed, having spherical shapes, uneven surfaces, and crystalline sizes of 22.52, and 28.31 nm, for the Ag and ZnO NPs, respectively. The soaps were found to have 7–8 pH, reasonable moisture content (10–13%), good foaming index (7–9.9 cm), excellent total fatty matter (70–75%), and good SV, predominantly better than the commercial soap. The nano-formulated soaps outperformed the extract soap. Overall, the formulated soaps of nanoparticles showed stronger antimicrobial effects than the methanol extract, and commercial soaps, having 20−24 mm inhibitory activity at 400 mg/mL across the microbes. These findings confirmed that the plant's leaf extract and its AgNPs and ZnONPs, displayed exceptional cosmetological properties for various applications.