NANOEMULSION OF MINTHOSTACHYS VERTICILLATA ESSENTIAL OIL. IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF ITS ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY

CECCHINI ME; PAOLONI C; CAMPRA N; PICCO N; GROSSO MC; SORIANO PEREZ ML; ALUSTIZA F; CARIDDI N; BELLINGERI R

Heliyon

Cell Press

Año: 2021

Infectious diseases constitute a problem of great importance for animal and humanhealth, as well as the increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. In this context,medicinal plants emerge as an effective alternative to replace the use antibiotics. Theessential oil (EO) of Minthostachys verticillata (Griseb.) Epling (Lamiaceae) hasdemonstrated a strong antimicrobial activity. However, its instability and hydrophobicityunder normal storage conditions are limitations to its use. Nanoemulsion technology isan excellent way to solubilize, microencapsulate, and protect this compound. Thisstudy aimed to obtain a nanoemulsion based on M. verticillata EO and evaluate itsantibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus . The EO was obtained by steamdistillation. Identification and quantification of their components were determined byGC-MS revealing that the dominated chemical group was oxygenated monoterpenes.Nanoemulsions (NE) were characterized by measuring pH, transmittance, separationpercentage, release profile, and morphology. The effect of NE on the growth of S.aureus and cyto-compatibility was also evaluated. The results showed that NEcontaining a higher percentage of tween 20 exhibited higher stability with anapproximated droplet size of 10 nm. After 24 h, 74.24 ± 0.75 % of EO was releasedfrom NE and the antibacterial activity of EO was enhanced considerably by itsencapsulation. The incubation of S. aureus with the NE and pure EO, show abacterial growth inhibition of 58.87% ± 0.99 and 46.72% ± 3.32 (p