Nanogel-Based Delivery System for Lemongrass Essential Oil: A Promising Approach to Overcome Antibiotic Resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections

Advances in plant essential oils and drug delivery systems for skincare

Background

Essential oils, often referred to as "liquid gold," are renowned for their broad biological activity. Ancient Egyptians used essential oils' antibacterial and antiseptic effects to preserve mummies, ancient Greeks used olive oil for sun protection, and ancient Chinese used essential oils to treat wounds. When essential oils are applied to the facial skin, their potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial pharmacological characteristics provide various benefits, including sunscreen, skin-whitening, and anti-aging effects.

Purpose

This paper aims to summarize the application of plant essential oil in skin whitening, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial in recent years, and deeply analyzes the internal relationship between essential oil and modern drug delivery system, expounds how to overcome the limitations of essential oil through specific drug delivery system, to enhance its biological activity and stability, realize sustained release and reduce its potential toxicity, and also discusses the positive effects of essential oil on brain function through olfactory pathway, emphasizes the possible safety risks in the use of essential oil, and puts forward corresponding suggestions for use.

Methods

Using keywords such as "essential oils," "antioxidant," "anti-tyrosinase," Antibacterial Effects and anti-inflammatory," "anti-anxiety," and "drug carrier delivery systems," a comprehensive search was conducted in the PubMed, CNKI, Baidu, and Wanfang databases to summarize articles from the past 5 years. Further screening was performed to select studies demonstrating the efficacy of essential oils through topical or external application.

Results

Various essential oils showed their efficacy as strong oxidants, antibacterial agents, anti-inflammatory agents, and skin-whitening agents. Combined with a new drug delivery system, it not only enhances the biological activity of essential oil but also reduces the inherent defects of essential oil, such as volatility, irritation, and toxicity, and has a targeted delivery effect. At the same time, the integration of essential oil into skin care products can make use of the dual functions of smell and the epidermal system to nourish and repair the skin and maximize the pharmacological effects of essential oil.

Conclusion

This review delves into the application of essential oils and delivery systems, advocating for a broader integration of natural plant resources with modern technology. By strategically utilizing essential oils, we can promote the sustainable development of the global economy. However, extensive clinical trials are still required to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of essential oil delivery systems.

Advancing functional foods: a systematic analysis of plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles and their health-promoting properties

Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PDENs), emerging as novel bioactive agents, exhibit significant potential in food science and nutritional health. These nanoparticles, enriched with plant-specific biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and secondary metabolites, demonstrate unique cross-species regulatory capabilities, enabling interactions with mammalian cells and gut microbiota. PDENs enhance nutrient bioavailability by protecting sensitive compounds during digestion, modulate metabolic pathways through miRNA-mediated gene regulation, and exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. For instance, grape-derived PDENs reduce plasma triglycerides in high-fat diets, while ginger-derived nanoparticles alleviate colitis by downregulating pro-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, PDENs serve as natural drug carriers, with applications in delivering therapeutic agents like doxorubicin and paclitaxel. Despite these advancements, challenges remain in standardizing extraction methods (ultracentrifugation, immunoaffinity), ensuring stability during food processing and storage, and evaluating long-term safety. Current research highlights the need for optimizing lyophilization techniques and understanding interactions between PDENs and food matrices. Furthermore, while PDENs show promise in functional food development-such as fortified beverages and probiotic formulations-their clinical translation requires rigorous pharmacokinetic studies and regulatory clarity. This review synthesizes existing knowledge on PDENs' composition, biological activities, and applications, while identifying gaps in scalability, stability, and safety assessments. Future directions emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration to harness PDENs' potential in combating metabolic disorders, enhancing food functionality, and advancing personalized nutrition strategies.

Investigating the Synergistic Effects of Carvacrol and Citral-Edible Polysaccharide-Based Nanoemulgels on Shelf Life Extension of Chalkidiki Green Table Olives

Modern bioeconomy and sustainability demands lead food technology in the development of novel biobased edible food preservatives. Herein, the development and characterization of novel polysaccharide (xanthan gum and kappa-carrageenan)-based nanoemulgels (NGs) enhanced with essential oil derivatives; pure citral (CT); pure carvacrol (CV); and various CT:CV ratios (25:75, 50:50, and 75:25) are presented. The obtained NGs are applied as active edible coatings for extending the shelf life of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) green table olives of Chalkidiki. The zeta potential demonstrated the high stability of the treatments, while light scattering measurement and scanning electron microscopy images confirmed the <100 nm droplet size. EC50 indicated high antioxidant activity for all the tested samples. The fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) confirmed the synergistic effect of NG with a CT:CV ratio at 50:50 against Staphylococcus aureus and at CT:CV ratios 25:75 and 75:25 against E. coli O157:H7. NG coatings with CT:CV ratios at 50:50 and at 25:75 effectively controlled the weight loss at 0.5%, maintained stable pH levels, and preserved the visual quality of green olives on day 21. The synergistic effect between CT and CV was confirmed as they reduced the spoilage microorganisms of yeasts and molds by 2-log [CFU/g] compared to the control and almost 1 log [CFU/g] difference from pure CT and CV-based NGs without affecting the growth of beneficial lactic acid bacteria crucial for fermentation. NGs with CT:CV ratios at 50:50 and at 25:75 demonstrated superior effectiveness in preventing discoloration and maintaining the main sensory attributes. Overall, shelf life extension was achieved in 21 compared to only 7 of the uncoated ones. Finally, this study demonstrates the potential of polysaccharide-based NGs in mixtures of CT and CV for the shelf life extension of fermented food products.

Development and characterization of a topical gel, containing lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) oil loaded solid lipid nanoparticles

Gels loaded with nanocarriers offer interesting ways to create novel therapeutic approaches by fusing the benefits of gel and nanotechnology. Clinical studies indicate that lavender oil (Lav-O) has a positive impact on accelerating wound healing properly based on its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. Initially Lav-O loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (Lav-SLN) were prepared incorporating cholesterol and lecithin natural lipids and prepared SLNs were characterized. Next, a 3% SLN containing topical gel (Lav-SLN-G) was formulated using Carbopol 940. Both Lav-SLN and Lav-SLN-G were assessed in terms antibacterial effects against S. aureus. Lav-SLNs revealed a particle size of 19.24 nm, zeta potential of -21.6 mv and EE% of 75.46%. Formulated topical gel presented an acceptable pH and texture properties. Minimum Inhibitory/Bactericidal Concentration (MIC/MBC) against S. aureus for LAv-O, Lav-SLN and Lav-SLN-G were 0.12 and 0.24 mgml- 1, 0.05 and 0.19 mgml- 1 and 0.045, 0.09 mgml- 1, respectively. Therefore, SLN can be considered as an antimicrobial potentiating nano-carrier for delivery of Lav-O as an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent in topical gel.