Antimicrobial Activity of <i>Artemisia dracunculus</i> Oil-Loaded Agarose/Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Hydrogel for Bio-Applications
Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu,
Diana Serbezeanu,
Tăchiță Vlad-Bubulac,
Dana Mihaela Suflet,
Iuliana Motrescu,
Constantin Lungoci,
Teodor Robu,
Narcisa Vrînceanu,
Mariana Grecu,
Andreea Paula Cozma,
Lenuța Fotea,
Dragoș Constantin Anița,
Ivona Popovici,
Cristina Elena Horhogea
Affiliations
Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu
Department of Public Health, Iasi “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Sadoveanu Alley, 707027 Iasi, Romania
Diana Serbezeanu
Department of Polycondensation and Thermally Stable Polymers, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Grigore Ghica Voda Alley 41A, 700487 Iasi, Romania
Tăchiță Vlad-Bubulac
Department of Polycondensation and Thermally Stable Polymers, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Grigore Ghica Voda Alley 41A, 700487 Iasi, Romania
Dana Mihaela Suflet
Department of Polycondensation and Thermally Stable Polymers, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Grigore Ghica Voda Alley 41A, 700487 Iasi, Romania
Iuliana Motrescu
Department of Exact Sciences, Iasi “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Constantin Lungoci
Department of Plant Science, Iasi “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Teodor Robu
Department of Plant Science, Iasi “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Narcisa Vrînceanu
Department of Industrial Machines and Equipments, Faculty of Engineering, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, 10 Victoriei Blvd, 550024 Sibiu, Romania
Mariana Grecu
Department of Pharmacology, Iasi “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Sadoveanu Alley, 707027 Iasi, Romania
Andreea Paula Cozma
Department of Exact Sciences, Iasi “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Lenuța Fotea
Department of Animal Resources and Technologies, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Dragoș Constantin Anița
Regional Center of Advanced Research for Emerging Diseases Zoonoses and Food Safety (ROVETEMERG), “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Ivona Popovici
Department of Preclinics, Iasi “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Sadoveanu Alley, 707027 Iasi, Romania
Cristina Elena Horhogea
Department of Public Health, Iasi “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Sadoveanu Alley, 707027 Iasi, Romania
In this study, the potential use of Artemisia dracunculus essential oil in bio-applications was investigated. Firstly, the phytochemicals from Artemisia dracunculus were analyzed by different methods. Secondly, the Artemisia dracunculus essential oil was incorporated into the hydrogel matrix based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and agar (A). The structural, morphological, and physical properties of the hydrogel matrix loaded with different amounts of Artemisia dracunculus essential oil were thoroughly investigated. FTIR analysis revealed the successful loading of the essential oil Artemisia dracunculus into the PVA/A hydrogel matrix. The influence of the mechanical properties and antimicrobial activity of the PVA/A hydrogel matrix loaded with different amounts of Artemisia dracunculus was also assessed. The antimicrobial activity of Artemisia dracunculus (EO Artemisia dracunculus) essential oil was tested using the disk diffusion method and the time-kill assay method after entrapment in the PVA/A hydrogel matrices. The results showed that PVA/agar-based hydrogels loaded with EO Artemisia dracunculus exhibited significant antimicrobial activity (log reduction ratio in the range of 85.5111–100%) against nine pathogenic isolates, both Gram-positive (S. aureus, MRSA, E. faecalis, L. monocytogenes) and Gram-negative (E. coli, K. pneumoniae, S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, and A. salmonicida). The resulted biocompatible polymers proved to have enhanced properties when functionalized with the essential oil of Artemisia dracunculus, offering opportunities and possibilities for novel applications.
