Young Iranian Inventors Patent Formulation of Herbal Nano Antioxidant as Natural Preservative

The young scientists named Shahab Ojani, Nasser Montazeri, Massoud Mohammadi Zeidi and Massoud Qan’e patented their invention under the name of ‘herbal nano antioxidant formulation as a natural preservative’.

“The natural preservative can be used in various industries and ultimately leads to avoidance in using synthetic antioxidants, including TBHQ, BHT and BHA,” Ojani, one of the researchers, told ANA on the sidelines of IRANANO 2022 exhibition in Tehran.

“Given the fact that synthetic antioxidants have different side effects, including mutagenesis and cancer, in the human body, they should be gradually removed from the list of consumed antioxidants; therefore, production of natural antioxidants as a substitute is necessary,” he added.

“Due to the existence of the secondary metabolites in medicinal plants, specially the plants grown in Iran and the synthesized nanoparticles, benefiting from their extracts is possible which leads to the effective prevention of different diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's, diabetes and rheumatism,” Ojani said.

Elaborating on the ‘formulation of herbal nano antioxidant as a natural preservative’, he said, “First the hydroalcoholic extract of fenugreek plant was prepared by microwave method and then the phytochemical screening of the extract was carried out qualitatively.”

“Then, selenium nanoparticles were synthesized by using the prepared extract and sodium selenite salt based on a specified method and in the next step, they were characterized using spectroscopic and microscopic techniques,” Ojani stated.

Noting that the devices showed the size and morphology of selenium nanoparticles well, he said that the antioxidant activity of the synthesized selenium nanoparticles was determined in the next stage by using the DPPH0 antioxidant power test method.

“In general, the results of the invention of the ‘formulation of herbal nano antioxidant as a natural preservative’ showed that the extract of fenugreek plant, which is a local plant of Iran, has a proper capability to produce selenium nanoparticles, and in fact, the nanoparticles produced by its extract also have significant antioxidant properties,” Ojani concluded.

The 13th Nanotechnology Festival and Exhibition (IRANANO 2022) was held in Tehran on October 1-4 with participation of over 280 knowledge-based companies active in the field of nanotechnology which had presented more than 1,200 products in different areas.

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