Characterization of free and encapsulated essential oils from Aguaribay

CUTRO, ANDREA; HOLLMANN, AXEL; RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO A.

Congreso; Primeras Jornadas Virtuales SAB 2020; 2020

Sociedad Argentina de Biofisica

The antimicrobial activities of essential oil (E.O.) represent an alternative in the searchfor new antibiotics, given the persistence of certain infections and the emergence ofmicroorganisms resistant to commercial antibiotics. In this context, Schinus areira(Aguaribay) E.O. obtained from leaf specimens located in Santiago del Estero haveshown antibacterial action against Staphylococcus aureus. This biological activity wascorrelated with changes in surface cell zeta potential (Ψp) and cell viability. Moreover, ithas been shown to have a differential effect on Ψp of bacterial membrane. Recently E.O.from leaves and fruits obtained from the same specimens, exhibited activity against S.aureus, although to a lesser extent. This fact could be related to differences in thechemical composition as a result of the different periods of sample collection. Finally,phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes with encapsulated E.O. were developed. They keptthe antibacterial activity. These vesicles were characterized by biophysical techniques,showing a similar Ψp value and a lesser size in comparison with PC liposomes (-6.1 ±2.30 mV and -4.35 ± 2 mV; 299.8 ± 53.9 nm and 1266.5 ± 255.8 nm, respectively).Moreover, the formulation showed high encapsulation efficiency (89%). Interestingly, thestability assays showed a loss of E.O components after 15 days of incubation suggestedthat some components are released from the liposomes, besides further experimentsshould be made, this data could be an indication that this lipid formulation could beapplied as a controlled release of the active compounds.The results obtained wouldindicate that the E.O. of S. areira both free and encapsulated have a potential use in thepharmaceutical industry.