Evaluation of the Antibacterial Properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Pullulan Scaffolds Loaded with <i>Nepeta racemosa</i> Lam. Essential Oil and Perspectives for Possible Applications
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
Affiliations
Constantin Lungoci
Department of Plant Science, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu
Department of Public Health, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Sadoveanu Alley, 707027 Iasi, Romania
Iuliana Motrescu
Department of Exact Sciences, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Diana Serbezeanu
Department of Polycondensation and Thermally Stable Polymers, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, 41A Grigore Ghica Voda Alley, 700487 Iasi, Romania
Cristina Elena Horhogea
Department of Public Health, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 8 Sadoveanu Alley, 707027 Iasi, Romania
Tăchiță Vlad-Bubulac
Department of Polycondensation and Thermally Stable Polymers, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, 41A Grigore Ghica Voda Alley, 700487 Iasi, Romania
Carmen Simona Ghițău
Department of Plant Science, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Ioan Puiu
Department of Plant Science, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Andra-Sabina Neculai-Văleanu
Research and Development Station for Cattle Breading Dancu, 9 Iasi-Ungheni rd., 707252 Dancu, Romania
Teodor Robu
Department of Plant Science, Iasi University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Essential oil of Nepeta racemosa 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 Nepeta racemosa 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.
