EUPHORBIA TITHYMALOIDES: DUAL ROLE IN COMBATTING DRUG RESISTANCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION THROUGH NANOPARTICLES ENHANCED DYE REMOVAL AND BIOCHAR-BASED HEAVY METAL REMEDIATION

Abstract

Euphorbia tithymaloides is a plant with documented medicinal properties. The plant contains a diverse range of phytochemicals, including saponins, tannins, steroids, coumarins, triterpenes, etc. As the plant is rich in different phytochemicals leaves of this plant were employed in the manufacturing of ZnO nanoparticles. The absorption peak of manufactured ZnO nanoparticles was observed at 244nm. Antimicrobial resistance has become a substantial and urgent menace to public health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over two million people in the US acquire resistant pathogens annually, leading to a minimum of 23,000 fatalities. The need for an alternative antimicrobial agent is the demand of the current scenario. ZnO nanoparticles were employed as an antibacterial agent against a poly-antibiotic resistant bacteria, Bacillus clausii. ZnO nanoparticles displayed remarkable microbicidal activity against drug-resistant Bacillus clausii. The zone of inhibition exhibited by ZnO nanoparticles was observed to be 22mm. friedelanol, ursolic acid, β-sitosterol, and epifriedelanyl acetate are the reported bioactive compounds that were evaluated through In silico analysis for their antibacterial activity against Lipoteichoic acid synthase enzyme synthesized by Staphylococcus aureus which is a crucial enzyme required in the synthesis of lipoteichoic acid. This enzyme was inhibited using these phytocompounds of Euphorbia tithymaloides. Lipoteichoic acid is crucial for the survival, development, and reproduction of cells. Mutants lacking LtaS are susceptible to bursting under osmotic pressure and can only multiply in environments that have a stable osmotic balance. Inhibiting the biosynthesis of teichoic acid is a potential vi approach for therapeutic intervention. Further, the manufactured ZnO nanoparticles were employed as a photocatalyst in the removal of Eosin Yellow dye and Methylene Blue. It was observed that within 6 h 77.66% of methylene blue was degraded and 88.44% of Eosin Yellow was degraded by zinc oxide nanoparticles. the leaves of Euphorbia tithymaloides were also utilized in the synthesis of Biochar. Subsequently, the synthesized Biochar was utilized as an adsorbent to effectively eliminate Cd from the wastewater. Over time the efficiency of Cd removal from the solution improved. After 24 hr, the solution, which contained 250mg of biochar was able to remove 92.07% of cadmium from the solution by adsorption.