In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using Prunus avium gum extract and their physicochemical properties together with antibacterial and cytotoxic effects were evaluated. The characterization of these AgNPs was performed by UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy. The bio-performance of the nanoparticles was also evaluated. Our results exhibit the prominent antibacterial activity of AgNPs against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The MTT results indicate cytotoxicity of AgNPs on MCF-7 and SH-SY5Y cell lines at 50 and 10 mu g mL(-1) concentrations, respectively. Moreover, gene expression analysis by real-time PCR represents the upregulation of Bax mRNA and downregulation of Bcl-2 mRNA, demonstrates the induction of apoptosis after AgNPs treatment. These findings imply that green-synthesized AgNPs could be a promising candidate in biomedical applications such as battling cancer and infectious diseases.