## 4 Conclusions  
_Tabernaemontana ventricosa_ latex extracts were investigated in this study to effectively produce AgNPs, thus offering an environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and simple approach. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, HRTEM, EDX, and NTA. The antibacterial activity of AgNPs was assessed against various Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains, and the cytotoxic potential was assessed in human cell lines, namely embryonic kidney (HEK293), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), and cervical carcinoma (HeLa). The AgNPs displayed prominent Ag peaks during UV-SPEC and EDX analyses. Furthermore, spherical, ovate, and triangular-shaped latex AgNPs (5.00-17.50 nm) were visible during SEM and HRTEM studies. Various functional groups within latex AgNPs, such as alcohols, alkanes, amines, proteins, enzymes, and other biomolecules, were detected by FTIR, possibly responsible for the capping, reduction, and functionalization of AgNPs. The antibacterial and cytotoxic evaluation of AgNPs displayed promising activity, thus suggesting the potential importance of AgNPs in biomedical applications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis, characterization, and antibacterial and cytotoxic evaluation of AgNPs using latex of _T. ventricosa_. Future studies will focus on latex-mediated gold and copper nanoparticles to determine an optimized size selectiveness and stability. In addition, further studies to determine the molecular mechanisms of AgNPs on cell lines will be explored.  
Conceptualization, C.M.N. and Y.N.; methodology, C.M.N.; validation, C.M.N., Y.N., Y.H.D., M.S. and A.A.; formal analysis, C.M.N.; investigation C.M.N., Y.N. and A.N.D.; resources, C.M.N., Y.N., M.S. and J.L.; data curation, C.M.N.; writing--original draft preparation, C.M.N.; writing--review and editing, C.M.N., Y.N., Y.H.D., M.S. and A.A.; visualization, C.M.N., Y.N., Y.H.D., M.S. and A.A. supervision Y.N., Y.H.D. and M.S.; project administration, C.M.N., Y.N., Y.H.D., M.S. and J.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was funded by the National Research Foundation, South Africa (Grant No. 131172) and Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R375), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  
Not applicable.  
This study is part of [PERSON]'s Ph.D. thesis entitled \"Micromorphological characterization, histo-phytochemical analysis and bioactivity of _Tabernaemontana ventricosa_ hochst. ex a. dc. (Apocynaceae). [[https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za](https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za)]([https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za](https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za)) (accessed on 1 August 2023).  
The authors appreciatively acknowledge the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R375), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We would also like to sincerely thank the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) through its Division of Research Capacity Development under the Research Capacity Development Initiative. We would like to thank the Microscopy and Microanalysis Unit staff at the University of KwaZulu-Natal for their assistance with microscopy.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.