Encapsulation of Cuminum cyminum essential oils in chitosan-caffeic acid nanogel with enhanced antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus flavus
2015
Zhaveh, Sara | Mohsenifar, Afshin | Beiki, Mina | Khalili, Seyede Tahereh | Abdollahi, Alina | Rahmani-Cherati, Tavoos | Tabatabaei, Meisam
Herbal essential oils such as Cuminum cyminum are natural antifungal agents consisting of many different volatile compounds. In the present study, encapsulation by chitosan (CS)–caffeic acid (CA) nanogel was used to improve antimicrobial activity and stability of the C. cyminum essential oils against Aspergillus flavus. An encapsulation efficiency of 85% based on the optical density spectra of the essential oil was achieved and as revealed through the release kinetics studies, 78% of the encapsulated oils were released during 1 week. The results obtained indicated that due to the volatility and instability of the oils when exposed to environmental factors, its encapsulation considerably improved its performance. More specifically, the minimum inhibitory concentration of free and encapsulated C. cyminum essential oils against A. flavus under sealed condition were at 650 and 350ppm, respectively. Moreover, the encapsulated oils performed better (800ppm), when tested under non-sealed condition while the free oils failed to caused fungal growth inhibition within the concentration range tested (up to 1000ppm). This finding could be of great significance in medicinal plant remedies in order to achieve improved performance of herbal essential oils at lower concentrations and during longer time frames.
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