Green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles using Hibiscus rosa‑sinensis for fortifying wheat biscuits

摘要

The present investigation is an attempt on synthesising iron oxide nanoparticles through greener mode using the petalextracts of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and utilising them as fortificants in wheat biscuits. Ferric and ferrous chloride at a concentrationof 0.025 M and at a ratio of 2:1 was used as the metal precursors and the extract was served as the reducingagent. Synthesised iron oxide nanoparticles were characterised using UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD),FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The analyses confirmed that the formed particles were nanosized and the crystallite size was found to be 6.16 nm through XRD studies. The formed nanoparticles were observedfrom SEM analysis to be spinel shaped with an average particle size of 65 nm. Biscuits were fortified with iron oxide nanoparticleswhich were later studied for physical and proximate analyses. The inductively coupled plasma optical emissionspectroscopy studies revealed that the iron content was higher in fortified biscuits than that in control. Microbial analysisfor 30 days indicated that the fortified biscuits could have a longer shelf life. In brief, the first report on use of iron oxidenanoparticles successfully suggested that their use as fortificants in food and could be prescribed for malnourished, irondeficit or anaemic patients.