Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles from Pogostemon cablin Benth. for Cancer Therapy: A review of phytochemistry, green synthesis, and anticancer potential

Chemotherapy has two problems that have not yet been fully addressed: it does not distinguish tumor cells from healthy cells effectively, and tumors can adapt to it. Plant extract-based silver nanoparticles have been proposed as an alternative, and several have shown activity against cancer cell lines. Pogostemon cablin Benth., a plant known as nilam in Indonesia, fits this profile but has rarely been studied in this context. Its leaves contain patchouli alcohol, pogostone, and a long list of flavonoids and phenolic acids, and the crude extract alone has been shown to reduce the viability of leukemia, colorectal, and endometrial cancer cells. A method for turning patchouli leaf extract into silver nanoparticles exists, though it was built for an antibacterial wound dressing rather than for cancer treatment. However, no one has the obvious next step and tested these nanoparticles against tumor cell lines. This review works through what discusses plant chemistry, the general procedure of green nanoparticle synthesis, the characteristics of these particles tend to look like once they are characterized, the efficacy of plant-based nanoparticles in killing cancer cells, and the current safety data, mainly to clarify the existing gaps.