Abstract
The antibacterial property of thyme essential oil due to different volatile compounds, has been well documented in the literature. To overcome the high volatility of essential oil components, encapsulation has emerged as a new alternative. In this work, chitosan and thyme essential oil-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (TEO-CSNPs) and nanocapsules (TEO-CSNCs) were prepared by nanoprecipitation and nanoencapsulation, respectively. The morphology, encapsulation efficiency, release kinetics, and inhibitory activity were evaluated. Average size of nanocapsules (9.1±1.6nm) was slightly higher than nanoparticles (6.4±0.5nm). The percentage encapsulation of thymol and carvacrol, more than 68%, was similar for nanoparticles and nanocapsules. However, thymol and carvacrol release time from TEO-CSNPs was faster compared to TEO-CSNCs. The release kinetics data were fitted to three analytical kinetic models with no statistical differences among them. The inhibitory activity was higher for nanoparticles than for nanocapsules when tested against six foodborne bacteria. The inhibitory effect of TEO-CSNPs was the highest against Staphylococcus aureus (inhibition halo 4.3cm) and for TEO-CSNCs it was against Bacillus cereus (inhibition halo 1.9cm).
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
