<p>Cancer remains a major global health issue, highlighting the need for alternative treatments due to the low efficacy, toxicity, and drug resistance of conventional chemotherapy. This study reports the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using okra fruit extract (OFE) as a bioreducing agent under rapid, cost-effective, and eco-friendly conditions. The synthesized OFE-ZnO NPs were characterized by UV-Vis Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), and zeta potential analyses. UV-Vis showed a surface plasmon resonance peak at 374 nm, while FTIR confirmed Zn–O stretching at 618 cm⁻¹. SEM images revealed spherical, uniformly distributed nanoparticles, and EDX verified the presence of zinc. XRD indicated high crystallinity, and DLS analysis showed an average particle size of 146.1 nm with a zeta potential of -25.79 mV. Antioxidant assays (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS)) demonstrated notable activity at 123.04±2.37 μg/mL and 56.34±1.84 μg/mL, respectively. MTT (Methyl thiazole tetrazolium) results showed significant cytotoxicity against A549 (human lung carcinoma), MDA-MB-231 (human breast carcinoma), SH-SY5Y (human neuroblastoma) and, and L929 (normal fibroblast) cell lines, reducing viability to 11.40–16.30% at 1000 µg/mL. Wound healing assays showed improved grafting in A549 cells treated with OFE-ZnO NPs (25.97±3.77%). These results demonstrate that OFE-ZnO NPs synthesized from OFE (uniquely rich in polysaccharides and biopolymers that function as reducing, stabilizing and biofunctionalizing agents) grown in our region have extensive biological applications, including wound healing, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity assessments, and are promising candidates for clinical development.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>