Antimicrobial and physical Properties of Nanostructured Lipid Carriers(NLC) Containing Thymus volgaris L

Zataria multiflora Bioss extract contains antioxidant components that can be used as preservative for foodstuffs. These applications require appropriate carriers like Nanostructured Lipid Carrier (NLC). The purpose of this study was to encapsulate Zataria multiflora extract into NLC and to investigate NLC antioxidant activity. In this study, antioxidant activity and the physical properties of Zataria multiflora-NLC were studied by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and also measuring the particle size, polydispersity index and encapsulation efficiency. FTIR was exploited to study the possible bioactive-lipid complex formation. SEM analysis was performed to verify the nanoscale size of the particles. The extract was encapsulated into NLC with 122 nm with high dispersivity index via hot homogenization method. The encapsulation efficiency of NLC containing Zataria multiflora was about 71%. In this study, DPPH analysis was used to evaluate the antioxidant activity. After a day, the antioxidant activity of Zataria multiflora-NLC was higher than that of free extract at equal concentrations. However, during the storage for 16 days at ambient temperature, the antioxidant activity of Zataria multiflora-NLC decreased to values less than that of the free extract. This could be due to the release of extracts from the carrier during the storage time and the synergistic effect of carrier constituents with the released extract. It can be concluded that NLC is a suitable carrier for encapsulation of Zataria moltiflora extract.