In-vitro Antibacterial Activity of Carbopol-Essential Oils hydrogels

Abstract

The invention pertains to develop drug delivery systems is still challenging, and many scientists joined the race to use more effective, less toxic, low cost, and sustainable systems for drug delivery. This research was carried out to formulate mixed essential oils loaded with carbopol hydrogels, and to evaluate their antibacterial activity against selected pathogens using disk diffusion method. Screening for antibacterial activity of essential oils was done prior to the fabrication of hydrogels. Clove essential oil exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity towards all tested pathogens followed by the cinnamon essential oil. Hydrogel formulation containing mixed essential oils showed the best antibacterial results compared to single oil formulations with an inhibition zone of 18‐23 mm for Staphylococcus aureus, 17‐20mm for Escherichia coli, and 14‐18mm for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All hydrogel formulations were non-irritant, stable, and free of microorganisms. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of the essential oils were significantly affected by loading them in carbopol hydrogel.

Keywords

• Antimicrobial activity; essential oils; hydrogel; Carbopol Ultrez