Abstract
In many developing countries, there are certain health problems faced by the public, one among them is Malaria. This tropical disease is mainly caused by
Plasmodium falciparum
. It is categorized as a disaster to public health, which increases both mortality and morbidity. Numerous drugs are in practice to control this disease and their vectors. Eco-friendly control tools are required to battle against vector of this significant disease. Nanotechnology plays a major role in fighting against malaria. The present paper synthesized Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using zinc nitrate via simple green routes with the help of aqueous peel extract of
Lagenaria siceraria
(
L. siceraria
). The synthesized ZnO NPs were characterized by various biophysical methods. Moreover, the extract of
L. siceraria
and their mediated ZnO NPs was experimented against III instar larvae of
An. stephensi
. The impact of the treatment based on ZnO NPs concerning histology and morphology of mosquito larval was further observed. In the normal laboratory environment, the efficiency of predation of
Poeciliareticulata
(
P. reticulata)
against
An. Stephensi
larvae was found to be 44%, whereas in aqueous
L. siceraria
extract and its mediated ZnO NPs contaminated environment,
P. reticulate
showed predation efficiency of about 45.8% and 61.13% against
An. Stephensi
larva.
L. siceraria
synthesized ZnO NPs were examined against the
Plasmodium falciparum
CQ-sensitive strains. The
L. siceraria
extract and its mediated ZnO NPs showed the cytotoxic effects against HeLa cell lines with an IC
50
value of 62.5 µg/mL. This study concludes that
L. siceraria
peel extract and
L. siceraria
synthesized ZnO NPs represent a valuable green option to fight against malarial vectors and parasites.