English

Citronella Oil Nanoemulsion: Formulation, Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Cytotoxicity

• 志洋 陈 ,
• 雅婷 唐 ,
• 泽 吕 ,
• 霄汉 孟 ,
• 前伟 梁 ,
• 建国 冯 ^,

• School of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, Jiangsu Province, China

Corresponding author: 建国 冯, jgfeng@yzu.edu.cn

• Received Date: 27 May 2022
  Accepted Date: 21 June 2022
  Revised Date: 21 June 2022
  Available Online: 15 December 2022
• Fund Project:

Abstract: The excessive and unreasonable use of synthetic bactericides in the agricultural field has caused many serious problems, including toxic effects on human health and environmental pollution. Therefore, searching for low toxicity, highly efficient, and no-residue natural bactericides is urgently needed. Plant essential oil has become an emerging and hot topic in the agricultural field because of its excellent bactericidal activity, good biocompatibility, and abundant sources. Citronella oil is a natural plant essential oil with insect repellent, insecticidal, and antibacterial activities, which mainly includes citronellal, geraniol, and citronellol. At present, the major of research on citronella oil focuses on the repellency and control of sanitary pests, but there are relatively few reports on the control of agricultural pathogenic bacteria. In addition, the hydrophobicity and volatility of citronella oil lead to its low bioavailability and hinder its full biological activity. Therefore, constructing a delivery system for improving the hydrophobicity and reducing the volatility of citronella oil is urgently needed. Nanoemulsions have the advantages of fine and uniform droplets, better physical stability, efficient permeation ability, and enhanced bioavailability. Therefore, nanoemulsions are important drug delivery systems for hydrophobic pesticides. In this study, the influences of emulsifier type (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB)), dosage, and emulsifying time on the formation and stability of citronella oil nanoemulsions were investigated by observing the appearances and microstructures of samples and measuring droplet size, thereby the optimized formula of the citronella oil nanoemulsions was determined. Furthermore, the bioactivity and biosafety of citronella oil nanoemulsions were also investigated. The results showed that nanoemulsions using castor oil polyoxyethylene ethers EL-40 (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance = 13.5) as an emulsifier had the best performance, and the stability of nanoemulsions improved as the emulsifier dosage increased from 3% to 7% (w, mass fraction). In addition, the nanoemulsion prepared through high speed shearing for 3 min was the most stable. The optimal formula for citronella oil nanoemulsions was determined to contain 5% (w) citronella oil, 6% (w) emulsifier (EL-40), and 89% (w) deionized water, upon high speed shearing for 3 min. Then, the inhibitory effect of citronella oil nanoemulsions against the growth of Pantoea ananatis was studied. The concentration for 50% of maximal effect (EC₅₀) of citronella oil nanoemulsions against Pantoea ananatis was 74.85 mg·L⁻¹. The cell viability of L02 cells treated with the citronella oil nanoemulsions (below 100 mg·L⁻¹) was above 83% after 24 h, and the apoptosis rate was 6.93%, indicating that the citronella oil nanoemulsions had low cytotoxicity. This research facilitated the design and fabrication of stable, efficient, and safe agricultural nanoemulsions, and it provides a practical solution for using plant essential oils as agricultural bactericides.

Key words:
• Citronella oil
•  /  Nanoemulsion
•  /  Stability
•  /  Bactericide
•  /  Cytotoxicity
•  /  Environment-friendliness

• 1. [1]

     Gierer, F.; Vaughan, S.; Slater, M.; Thompson, H. M.; Elmore, J. S.; Girling, R. D. Environ. Pollut. 2019, 249, 236. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.025

  2. [2]

     Sookhtanlou, M.; Allahyari, M. S. Environ. Sci. Pollut. R. 2021, 28 (22), 28168. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-12502-y

  3. [3]

     Ramakrishnan, B.; Venkateswarlu, K.; Sethunathan, N.; Megharaj, M. Sci. Total Environ. 2019, 654, 177. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.041

  4. [4]

     Fronza, G.; Toloza, A. C.; Picollo, M. I.; Carbajo, A. E.; Rodriguez, S.; Mougabure-Cueto, G. A. Acta Trop. 2019, 194, 53. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.03.021

  5. [5]

     Feng, J.; Ma, Y.; Chen, Z.; Liu, Q.; Yang, J.; Gao, Y.; Chen, W.; Qian, K.; Yang, W. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2021, 9 (14), 4988. doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c08105

  6. [6]

     Sinha, S.; Biswas, D.; Mukherjee, A. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2011, 137 (3), 1521. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.08.046

  7. [7]

     He, F.; Wang, W.; Wu, M.; Fang, Y.; Wang, S.; Yang, Y.; Ye, C.; Xiang, F. Ind. Crops Prod. 2020, 153, 112552. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2020.112552

  8. [8]

     Bouyahya, A.; Abrini, J.; Dakka, N.; Bakri, Y. J. Pharm. Anal. 2019, 9 (5), 301. doi: 10.1016/j.jpha.2019.03.001

  9. [9]

     Samba, N.; Aitfella-Lahlou, R.; Nelo, M.; Silva, L.; Coca, R.; Rocha, P.; Lopez Rodilla, J. M. Molecules 2021, 26 (1), 155. doi: 10.3390/molecules26010155

  10. [10]

      Moncada, J.; Tamayo, J. A.; Cardona, C. A. Ind. Crops Prod. 2014, 54, 175. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2014.01.035

  11. [11]

      Iliou, K.; Kikionis, S.; Petrakis, P. V.; Ioannou, E.; Roussis, V. Pest Manage. Sci. 2019, 75 (8), 2142. doi: 10.1002/ps.5334

  12. [12]

      Wan, L.; Li, H.; Huang, C.; Feng, Y.; Chu, G.; Zheng, Y.; Tan, W.; Qin, Y.; Sun, D.; Fang, Y. J. Chem. Thermodyn. 2017, 109, 109. doi: 10.1016/j.jct.2016.12.011

  13. [13]

      Rodrigues, K. A. d. F.; Dias, C. N.; do Amaral, F. M. M.; Moraes, D. F. C.; Mouchrek Filho, V. E.; Andrade, E. H. A.; Maia, J. G. S. Pharm. Biol. 2013, 51 (10), 1293. doi: 10.3109/13880209.2013.789536

  14. [14]

      Timung, R.; Barik, C. R.; Purohit, S.; Goud, V. V. Ind. Crops Prod. 2016, 94, 178. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.08.021

  15. [15]

      Motelica, L.; Ficai, D.; Ficai, A.; Trusca, R. -D.; Ilie, C. -I.; Oprea, O. -C.; Andronescu, E. Foods 2020, 9 (12), 121801. doi: 10.3390/foods9121801

  16. [16]

      Meng, Y.; Yang, H.; Wang, D.; Ma, Y.; Wang, X.; Blasi, F. Processes 2021, 9 (7), 1199. doi: 10.3390/pr9071199

  17. [17]

      Rezaei, A.; Fathi, M.; Jafari, S. M. Food Hydrocolloids 2019, 88, 146. doi: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2018.10.003

  18. [18]

      Rieger, K. A.; Birch, N. P.; Schiffman, J. D. Carbohyd. Polym. 2016, 139, 131. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.11.073

  19. [19]

      Agrawal, N.; Maddikeri, G. L.; Pandit, A. B. Ultrason. Sonochem. 2017, 36, 367. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.11.037

  20. [20]

      Sanchez-Gonzalez, L.; Vargas, M.; Gonzalez-Martinez, C.; Chiralt, A.; Chafer, M. Food Eng. Rev. 2011, 3 (1), 1. doi: 10.1007/s12393-010-9031-3

  21. [21]

      Bouchemal, K.; Briancon, S.; Perrier, E.; Fessi, H. Int. J. Pharm. 2004, 280 (1–2), 241. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2004.05.016

  22. [22]

      Katsouli, M.; Giannou, V.; Tzia, C. Food Funct. 2020, 11 (10), 8878. doi: 10.1039/d0fo01707h

  23. [23]

      Xu, N.; Wu, X.; Zhu, Y.; Miao, J.; Gao, Y.; Cheng, C.; Peng, S.; Zou, L.; McClements, D. J.; Liu, W. Food Chem. 2021, 355, 129508. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129508

  24. [24]

      Feng, J.; Chen, Q.; Wu, X.; Jafari, S. M.; McClements, D. J. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2018, 25 (22), 21742. doi: 10.1007/s11356-018-2183-z

  25. [25]

      McClements, D. J. Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci. 2017, 28, 7. doi: 10.1016/j.cocis.2016.12.002

  26. [26]

      Li, L. -W.; Chen, X. -Y.; Liu, L. -C.; Yang, Y.; Wu, Y. -J.; Chen, G.; Zhang, Z. -F.; Luo, P. Lwt-Food Sci. Technol. 2021, 140, 110815. doi: 10.1016/j.lwt.2020.110815

  27. [27]

      Thapa, R.; Sai, K.; Saha, D.; Kushwaha, D.; Aswal, V. K.; Moulick, R. G.; Bose, S.; Bhattaharya, J. J. Mol. Liq. 2021, 334, 115998. doi: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.115998

  28. [28]

      Zhu, Z.; Wen, Y.; Yi, J.; Cao, Y.; Liu, F.; McClements, D. J. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2019, 536, 80. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.10.024

  29. [29]

      Rave, M. C.; Echeverri, J. D.; Salamanca, C. H. J. Food Eng. 2020, 273, 109801. doi: 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2019.109801

  30. [30]

      Liu, Q.; Gao, Y.; Fu, X.; Chen, W.; Yang, J. H.; Chen, Z. Y.; Wang, Z. X.; Zhuansun, X. X.; Feng, J. G.; Chen, Y. Colloids Surf. B 2021, 201, 111626. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.111626

  31. [31]

      Feng, J.; Chen, W.; Liu, Q.; Chen, Z.; Yang, J.; Yang, W. Pest Manage. Sci. 2020, 76 (12), 4192. doi: 10.1002/ps.5976

  32. [32]

      Guan, W. X.; Tang, L. M.; Wang, Y.; Cui, H. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2018, 66 (29), 7568. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b01388

  33. [33]

      Li, J. M.; Chang, J. W.; Saenger, M.; Deering, A. Food Chem. 2017, 232, 191. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.03.147

  34. [34]

      Hong, I. K.; Kim, S. I.; Lee, S. B. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 2018, 67, 123. doi: 10.1016/j.jiec.2018.06.022

  35. [35]

      Feng, J.; Wang, R.; Chen, Z.; Zhang, S.; Yuan, S.; Cao, H.; Jafari, S. M.; Yang, W. Colloids Surf., A 2020, 596, 124746. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2020.124746

  36. [36]

      Rai, V. K.; Mishra, N.; Yadav, K. S.; Yadav, N. P. J. Controlled Release 2018, 270, 203. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2017.11.049

  37. [37]

      Du, Z.; Wang, C.; Tai, X.; Wang, G.; Liu, X. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2016, 4 (3), 983. doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.5b01058

  38. [38]

      Liang, X.; Wu, J.; Yang, X.; Tu, Z.; Wang, Y. Colloids Surf. Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 2018, 546, 107. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2018.02.063

  39. [39]

      Abbas, S.; Bashari, M.; Akhtar, W.; Li, W. W.; Zhang, X. Ultrason. Sonochem. 2014, 21 (4), 1265. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2013.12.017

  40. [40]

      Fryd, M. M.; Mason, T. G. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1 (23), 3349. doi: 10.1021/jz101365h

  41. [41]

      Tong, K.; Zhao, C.; Sun, Z.; Sun, D. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2015, 3 (12), 3299. doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.5b00903

•