PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND BIOMEDICAL BEHAVIOUR OF SUPERFINE NANOSCALE DRUMSTICK (MORINGA OLEIFERA) FOOD POWDER FOR ITS VARIOUS APPLICATIONS, PREPARED VIA AN ECO-FRIENDLY APPROACH USING HIGH-ENERGY BALL MILLING

Abstract

The study presented is a comparative analysis between two locally procured (M1 & M2) moringa leaf samples taken from two different demographic locations. The samples are compared on the structural and morphological changes that are inferred due to pressure grinding. The leaves were plucked from the local regions of Hajipur and Arrah (Bihar, India). Washed using DI water and dried in the microwave oven at RT. It was then coarsely ground into powder using a kitchen-based mixer grinder (labelled as 0 hrs samples) and kept in an air-tight container. The 0 hrs sample (M1 0 & M2 0) were then subjected to a high-energy ball milling machine which then was milled for 2.5 hours, 5 hours and 7.5 hours respectively. Optically; the visible colour change was observed when the sample was milled for different hours i.e., from dark green to light green. XRD results reveal that the sample was crystalline in nature and the size of the samples was between 1-100 nm. The current investigation extrapolates the surface morphology and crystal structure alteration due to different milling hours. SEM studies reveal that the samples (M1 0, M1 2.5, M1 5, M1 7.5, M2 0, M2 2.5, M2 5 & M2 7.5) are homogenous and large agglomerated grainy structures are indicative that as the milling time increases the surface to volume ratio increases thereby increasing the overall surface reactivity. Functional group measurement was done using FTIR for all the samples. No new functional group was seen; however slight shifts in wavelength were observed which does not alter the presence of any functional group. This was true for both sets of samples. UV-Vis-NIR was employed to study the absorbance. Maximum absorbance for all the samples of M1 was nearly identical around 400 nm. Slight absorption was seen around 270 nm and it also showed substantial absorption around 650 nm. In the case of M2 maximum absorption was seen around 400 nm and substantial absorption was seen around 650 nm and no to limited absorption around 270 nm. The Zeta potential of M1 and M2 was also calculated in order to check the stability of the molecule. The Zeta potential of M1 came around -26.92 mV and M2 was -17.90 mV indicating that the specimen has medium stability. A biomedical experiment was also carried out to examine the cytotoxicity and viability of the cells. MTT Assay, a colourimetric assay that is frequently utilized in the domains of life sciences, was the test used for the study. It involves utilising the cell's NADPH to transform the yellow tetrazolium salt into purple formazan. The findings demonstrated that raising the crushing time also boosts cell viability. For sustaining cellular viability, a dose of 100–250 µg/ml appears to be ideal.