Hasanin Mohamed S, Ayoob Fathallah A, Hashem Amr H, Emam Mahmoud
Cellulose & Paper Department, National Research Centre, El-Buhouth St., Dokki, 12622, Egypt.
Chemical industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jun 27;15(1):20326. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06577-7.
Aromatic plants produce essential oils (EOs) with diverse phytochemicals and biological applications. This study investigated three eco-friendly nanoemulsions of Lemon peel (LPO), Turmeric (TO), and Black seed (BSO) oils loaded into nanochitosan (NCh) for their antifungal activity against resistant fungal strains. Phytochemical analysis identified oxygenated/non-oxygenated hydrocarbons and saturated/unsaturated fatty acids in the EOs. Physicochemical characterization using FTIR, DLS, and HR-TEM showed stable nanoemulsions and nanochitosan with homogeneous particle size distributions in the nanoscale range. Notably, the essential oil nanoemulsions exhibited potent antifungal activity against Mucor racemosus, Rhizopus microsporus, and Lichtheimia corymbifera, resistant to commercial antifungal drugs. The nanoemulsions loaded with 1-3% chitosan showed inhibition zones ranging from 17 to 23 mm, outperforming the synthetic antifungal treatments. These findings highlight the potential of plant-derived essential oil nanoemulsions loaded into biocompatible nanochitosan as a promising, sustainable alternative to combat the growing threat of invasive fungal infections and drug resistance. Incorporating natural, eco-friendly materials enhances the stability, bioavailability, and targeted delivery of the active phytochemicals, contributing to the antifungal solution's overall efficacy and safety profile.
芳香植物产生的精油（EOs）含有多种植物化学物质并具有多种生物学应用。本研究调查了三种负载于纳米壳聚糖（NCh）中的柠檬皮油（LPO）、姜黄油（TO）和黑籽油（BSO）的环保型纳米乳液对耐药真菌菌株的抗真菌活性。植物化学分析确定了精油中的氧化/非氧化烃类和饱和/不饱和脂肪酸。使用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、动态光散射（DLS）和高分辨率透射电子显微镜（HR-TEM）进行的物理化学表征表明，纳米乳液和纳米壳聚糖稳定，粒径分布均匀，处于纳米尺度范围。值得注意的是，精油纳米乳液对总状毛霉、微小根霉和伞枝犁头霉表现出强大的抗真菌活性，这些真菌对商业抗真菌药物具有抗性。负载1-3%壳聚糖的纳米乳液显示出17至23毫米的抑菌圈，优于合成抗真菌治疗。这些发现突出了负载于生物相容性纳米壳聚糖中的植物源精油纳米乳液作为一种有前景的可持续替代方案的潜力，以应对侵袭性真菌感染和耐药性日益增长的威胁。纳入天然、环保材料可提高活性植物化学物质的稳定性、生物利用度和靶向递送，有助于提高抗真菌溶液的整体疗效和安全性。
