Table 3. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities of the biogenic Ag/ZrO₂ NCs relative to previously reported biogenic nanomaterials.

Biogenic source	Nanomaterial	Reported activity
Antioxidant activity
E. coli EPS03 (this study)	Ag/ZrO2 NCs	DPPH IC50 = 7.14 ± 0.13 µg mL−1 ABTS˙+ IC50 = 6.68 ± 0.12 µg mL−1
Sargassum tenerrimum	Ag/ZrO2 NCs, spherically agglomerated	Dose-dependent DPPH scavenging, 10–50 µg mL−1 (ref. 49)
Trichoderma atroviride	AgNPs, 15–25 nm, anisotropic	DPPH IC50 = 45.6 µg mL−1 (ref. 53)
Trichoderma saturnisporum	AgNPs, 10–70 nm, spherical	DPPH IC50 = 73.5 µg mL−1 (ref. 56)
Streptomyces violaceus (EPS-capped)	AgNPs	89.5% DPPH inhibition at 50 µg mL−1 (ref. 57)
Anti-inflammatory activity
E. coli EPS03 (this study)	Ag/ZrO2 NCs	COX-1 IC50 = 7.43 µg mL; COX-2 IC50 = 10.5 µg mL; BSA IC50 = 2.46 µg mL−1
Saussurea costus (leaf/root extract)	AgNPs	>99% inhibition of COX-1, 5-LOX and secreted PLA2 at 120 µg mL−1 (ref. 61)
Lantana montevidensis	AgNPs, 98.64 nm, spherical	92.95% paw-oedema suppression at 6 h; TNF-α 62.91 pg mL−1, IL-6136 pg mL−1 (ref. 62)
Clove and cardamom extract	ZrO2 NPs, 5–20 nm, spherical	Dose-dependent BSA denaturation inhibition, 10–50 µL (ref. 63)
Propolis extract	ZrO2 NPs (ciprofloxacin-loaded chitosan nanocapsules)	94% anti-inflammatory inhibition64
Rhododendron arboreum	ZrO2 NPs	BSA denaturation inhibition 60–97%, 6.75–100 µg mL−1 (ref. 65)
Antimicrobial activity
E. coli EPS03 (this study)	Ag/ZrO2 NCs	Inhibition zones 17–34 mm vs. bacteria; 30 mm vs. C. albicans
Passiflora edulis	ZrO2 NPs	8 mm vs. S. aureus; 11 mm vs. S. mutans; 100% growth suppression at 5–25% (ref. 69)
Wrightia tinctoria (leaf extract)	ZrO2 NPs	Measurable inhibition zones vs. Gram-positive/-negative strains at 10 µg mL−1 (ref. 70)
Anabaena variabilis	AgNPs, 11–15 nm, spherical	Antifungal activity vs. C. albicans; synergistic with fluconazole72