Middle Eastern plants as a source of bioactive metal nanoparticles: a critical review

The fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology continue to offer the opportunity for the development of nano-products with applications in various industries including the pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, food and healthcare sectors. Green nanotechnology is an emerging field in most parts of the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It involves the application of green chemistry principles for the synthesis of biocompatible metal nanoparticles (MNPs) using non-chemical, non-toxic, environmentally friendly and cost-effective methods as opposed to the conventional chemical approaches. One of the emerging research areas is the synthesis of green nanoparticles for biomedical applications using plant phytochemicals, which serve as both reducing and stabilizing agents. This review summarizes the recent publications on green-synthesized metal nanoparticles (GMNPs) derived from Middle Eastern flora, and their biological effects especially anticancer and antimicrobial activities. It also provides a critical analysis of the synthesis methods especially optimization, safety in therapeutic applications and possible mechanisms of action, and highlights the strategic potential of harnessing native plant biodiversity in the Middle East and UAE, for developing multifunctional bioactive GMNPs, thus contributing not only to the drug discovery value chain, but also to the advancement of green nanotechnology research in the region.