Antioxidant activity and antifungal fractional inhibitory concentration indices of zinc oxide nanoparticles in combination with carbendazim, mancozeb, and thiram

The current study reports antioxidant and antifungal activity of green and chemically synthesised zinc oxide nanoparticles in combination with agricultural fungicides carbendazim, mancozeb, and thiram. Nanoparticles were synthesised using previously standardised procedure and characterised, which confirmed particle size of <100 nm. These nanoparticles were then analysed for their antifungal and antioxidant activity. For fractional inhibitory concentration analysis, nanoparticles were combined with fungicides and tested against five fungal phytopathogens, namely Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Penicillium expansum. Nanoparticles positively influenced the antifungal potential of all test fungicides and excellent synergism was observed against all tested fungi. Further, the antioxidant activity of the stated nanosuspension was accessed by conducting free radical scavenging assay using 1,1 diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl. L- ascorbic acid was used as a standard reference. Radical scavenging improved with increasing concentration of nanoparticles and percent scavenging as high as 87% was observed at 125 mu g/mL. Thus, this work reports the synthesis of stable zinc oxide nanosuspension with good antifungal potential and efficient antioxidant activity.