Preparation and antibacterial activity of Litsea cubeba essential oil/dandelion polysaccharide nanofiber

To inhibit the emergence of drug-resistant strains, the essential oil extracted from the woody plant Litsea cubeba was selected as an antibacterial agent against Staphylococcus aureus. However, instability and volatility of Litsea cubeba essential oil (LCO) hinder its application. Therefore, in this study, the LCO was first encapsulated in the cavity of the β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) by solution-ultrasonic method, and then the inclusion complex was loaded by electrospinning to nanofibers based on the natural product dandelion polysaccharide (DP). The physicochemical properties of the LCO/DP nanofibers were subsequently characterized and their long-lasting antimicrobial properties were evaluated by release rate test. The results of antibacterial tests showed that LCO had good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The nanofibers with inclusion complex concentration of 7.5 mg/mL were selected for subsequent experiments by physical and chemical characterization of the spinning solution and nanofibers. The interaction between the essential oil and the components was evaluated using a Scanning Electron microscope (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). In addition, thermal properties of LCO/DP were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) which illustrated that LCO/DP nanofibers have good thermal stability. Finally, the release rate of essential oils showed that nanofibers have a good sustained release and long-lasting antibacterial effect. These results indicate that LCO/DP nanofibers can be further used for the medical and food packaging industries.