Antimicrobial activity and toxicity of Zhumeria majdae essential oil and its capsulated form

Introduction: Zhumeria majdae is an herbal plant which is only found in Hormozgan province. The aim of this study was to compare the antimicrobial property and toxicity of essential oil (EO) and encapsulated form of the essential oil (EFEO) of Zhumeria majdae. Materials and Methods: First, the plant was dried, grinded, and its EO extracted by hydrodistallation. Then, the EO was encapsulated by lecithin. Antimicrobial activity of EO and EFEO was evaluated by micro dilution broth method, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined.For toxicity test, serial concentrations of EO and EFEO were incubated with mouse skin cells, and then cell viability was calculated by MTT assay. Results: Based on atomic force microscopy results, the size distribution of EFEO was between 100-500 nm. Antimicrobial test showed that the MIC50 of both EO and EFEO was similar (0.6%). But, in case of Candida albicans, the MIC90 of EO and EFEO was 5% and 1.25%, respectively. It means that EFEO has greater effect on Candida albicans than EO. The results of MTT assay showed that the toxicity of EFEO was less than EO. Conclusion: It was found that in some cases, encapsulation could lead to better antimicrobial property and less toxicity. Because of high antimicrobial activity, both EO and EFEO of Zhumeria majdae might be used as powerfully antimicrobial agents.