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. 2021 May 7;13(9):1507.
doi: 10.3390/polym13091507.

Effect of Deterpenated Origanum majorana L. Essential Oil on the Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Chitosan/β-Chitin Nanofibers Nanocomposite Films

Rut Fernández-Marín  1 , Muhammad Mujtaba  2 , Demet Cansaran-Duman  2 , Ghada Ben Salha  1 , Mª Ángeles Andrés Sánchez  1 , Jalel Labidi  1 , Susana C M Fernandes  3
Affiliations

Effect of Deterpenated Origanum majorana L. Essential Oil on the Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Chitosan/β-Chitin Nanofibers Nanocomposite Films

Rut Fernández-Marín et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Herein, the effect of three deterpenated fractions from Origanum majorana L. essential oil on the physicochemical, mechanical and biological properties of chitosan/β-chitin nanofibers-based nanocomposite films were investigated. In general, the incorporation of Origanum majorana L. original essential oil or its deterpenated fractions increases the opacity of the nanocomposite films and gives them a yellowish color. The water solubility decreases from 58% for chitosan/β-chitin nanofibers nanocomposite film to around 32% for the nanocomposite films modified with original essential oil or its deterpenated fractions. Regarding the thermal stability, no major changes were observed, and the mechanical properties decreased. Interestingly, data show differences on the biological properties of the materials depending on the incorporated deterpenated fraction of Origanum majorana L. essential oil. The nanocomposite films prepared with the deterpenated fractions with a high concentration of oxygenated terpene derivatives show the best antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, with fungal growth inhibition of around 85.90%. Nonetheless, the only nanocomposite film that does not present cytotoxicity on the viability of L929 fibroblast cells after 48 and 72 h is the one prepared with the fraction presenting the higher terpenic hydrocarbon content (87.92%). These results suggest that the composition of the deterpenated fraction plays an important role in determining the biological properties of the nanocomposite films.

Keywords: Origanum majorana L. essential oil; beta-chitin nanofibers; biological properties; chitosan; deterpenated fractions; nanocomposite films.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The general appearance of the films. (A) CSNF; (B) CSNF-F1; (C) CSNF-F2; (D) CSNF-F3; (E) CSNF-OM.
Figure 2
Figure 2
UV-Vis spectra (700–250 nm) of the nanocomposites films.
Figure 3
Figure 3
ATR-FTIR spectra of the nanocomposite films.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The water contact angle of nanocomposite films.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Cross-section and surface images of scanning electron microscopy of (A) CSNF; (B) CSNF-F1; (C) CSNF-F2; (D) CSNF-F3; (E) CSNF-OM films.
Figure 6
Figure 6
TGA and dTGA curves of the nanocomposite films.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effect of CSNF, CSNF-F1, CSNF-F2, CSNF-F3 and CSNF-OM nanocomposite films on the growth of Aspergillus niger. The error bar represents the standard deviation (n = 3). Superscript letters in the bars indicate significant differences among the films (Duncan´s test, p < 0.05).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Cell viability of the nanocomposite films. The error bar corresponds to standard deviation (SD, n = 4). Letters in the bars with the same color denote significant differences among the different films and the same cell culture time (Duncan’s test, p < 0.05).
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