Preparation, Characterization and Antibacterial Activity of Malva Sylvestris L. Seed Extract Containing Novel Electrospun PVA Nanofibers

Abstract

Medicinal plants have been a great source for pharmaceutical agents. However, prossessing these raw sources to turn into therapeutic drugs requires highly complex technologies and expensive methods. Malva sylvestris L. is a commonly used vegetable in traditional and ethnoveterinary medicine because of its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, in this study we used PVA/M. sylvestris L. seed (MSs) extract biocomposites to produce nanofibers with electrospun technique. M. sylvestris L. seed extracts were prepared and divided into fractions with 20% ACN. The metabolites in MSs extract characterized by Q-TOF LC-MS. Biocomposites with different ratios of both polymer and extract were prepared for nanofiber production. Bionanofibers have been produced from these biocomposites with optimized electrospinning conditions and their morphological analysis has been performed using SEM and FTIR techniques. Nanofibers had average diameters within the range of ∼180–244 nm. They were also found to have antibacterial activity against several microorganisms including Gram-negative (P.aeruginosa and E.coli) and Gram-positive (S.aureus and E.faecalis) bacteria. These newly generated bionanofibers with antibacterial properties hold great potential to be used in medical applications and food packaging.