Synthesis And Characterization Of Medicinal Plant Extracts Loaded Pva/Pvp Blended Films And Their Applications

Abstract

Antibacterial agent based on herbal extracts is considered an attractive area for Developing countries. Nevertheless, herbal aqueous extracts usually show drawbacks, such as long-term volatility, poor bio availability and rapid burst release. For this reason the current interest of science is focused on biodegradable polymers. In this study, polymer films were prepared from poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blended with poly (vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) then post-loaded with Clitoria ternatea and Ocimum tenuiflorium ethanolic extracts. The effects of two polymers (PVA, PVP) and of the incorporated extracts were studied concerning the physical and in vitro bacterial growth inhibition properties of films; additionally, the antioxidant activity of each extracts was investigated. Plant extracts conferred significant antibacterial effects to films toward gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Also, both Clitoria ternatea and Ocimum tenuiflorium extracts showed strong antioxidant against DPPH in vitro. The prepared films showed significant antibacterial activities, specifically in films loaded with the Ocimum tenuiflorium extract against S. Aureus and in films loaded with C. Ternatea against E.coli.