Evaluation of the Antibacterial Properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Pullulan Scaffolds Loaded with <i>Nepeta racemosa</i> Lam. Essential Oil and Perspectives for Possible Applications
2023
Constantin Lungoci | Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu | Iuliana Motrescu | Diana Serbezeanu | Cristina Elena Horhogea | Tăchiță Vlad-Bubulac | Carmen Simona Ghițău | Ioan Puiu | Andra-Sabina Neculai-Văleanu | Teodor Robu
Essential oil of <i>Nepeta racemosa</i> Lam. was extracted and characterized to determine its antimicrobial activity and potential use in applications. The essential oil was loaded on polyvinyl alcohol-pullulan films and gels and characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-Vis spectroscopy before having its antimicrobial capacities assessed. The essential oil extracted from <i>Nepeta racemosa</i> Lam. was characterized using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy, which indicated that the most abundant component was nepetalic acid (55.5%), followed by eucalyptol (10.7%) and other compounds with concentrations of about 5% or less. The essential oil, as well as the loaded films and gels, exhibited good antibacterial activity on both gram-positive and gram-negative strains, with growth inhibition zones larger in some cases than for gentamicin, indicating excellent premises for using these essential-oil-loaded materials for applications in the food industry or biomedicine.
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