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Optimization and antifungal efficacy against brown rot fungi of combined Salvia rosmarinus and Cedrus atlantica essential oils encapsulated in Gum Arabic

Summary

Researchers have developed a natural product that protects wood from fungal decay by combining oils from rosemary and cedar trees and encapsulating them in Gum Arabic using specialized techniques. This nanoencapsulation process creates tiny protective particles that are much more stable and effective than the oils alone. When tested against wood-damaging fungi, this product showed remarkable antifungal power comparable to commercial fungicides. This innovation offers a safe, environmentally-friendly alternative to synthetic wood preservatives for building and construction applications.

Background

Essential oils have potential as natural wood preservatives, but their instability, volatility, and poor bioavailability limit their effectiveness. Nanoencapsulation using natural biopolymers like Gum Arabic has emerged as a promising technique to overcome these limitations and enhance antifungal properties.

Objective

This study aimed to optimize the nanoencapsulation of a mixture of Salvia rosmarinus and Cedrus atlantica essential oils in Gum Arabic and evaluate the resulting product’s antifungal efficacy against two brown rot fungi (Gloeophyllum trabeum and Poria placenta) responsible for wood decay.

Results

Optimal encapsulation conditions were achieved at MEO/GA ratio of 1:10 and MEO/ethanol of 10%, yielding 87% encapsulation efficiency. The encapsulated product (MEO-GA) showed enhanced thermal stability and superior antifungal activity with EC50 values of 5.15 µg/mL for G. trabeum and 12.63 µg/mL for P. placenta, outperforming the free essential oil mixture.

Conclusion

The nanoencapsulation of the essential oil mixture in Gum Arabic successfully improved thermal stability and significantly enhanced antifungal efficacy against wood decay fungi, demonstrating great potential as a natural wood preservative for sustainable construction and green building applications.
  • Published in:Scientific Reports,
  • Study Type:Experimental Research,
  • Source: PMID: 37945688, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46858-7
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