Glycyrrhiza glabra in green synthesis of selenium nanoparticles and its anticancer potential

¹ Department of Chemistry, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai – 600 119, India
² Centre for Ocean Research, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai – 600 119, India
³ Centre for Laboratory Animal Technology and Research, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai – 600 119
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Malla Reddy College of Engineering, Maisammaguda, Dhulapally, Secunderabad – 500100, India

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 10 March 2026

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is a critical element in human health, incorporated into selenoproteins, and is vital due to its specific bioactivities in nanoform. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were biosynthesized using an aqueous extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra as a reducing agent. The synthesis of SeNPs was characterized using UV–Visible spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM-EDX, TEM, DLS and zeta potential analysis. These investigations confirm that biosynthesized nanoparticles are spherical in shape, evenly distributed in size, and highly stable. MTT assays demonstrated significant dose-dependent cytotoxic activity of SeNPs against the cervical cancer cell line SiHa, while exhibiting very low toxicity toward normal McCoy fibroblast cells. These outcomes suggest that G. glabra-mediated SeNPs are safe and promising for treatment in targeted cancer therapies.