Fabrication of chitosan nanofibers containing tea tree oil liposomes against Salmonella spp. in chicken

Salmonella is a kind of common pathogenic bacteria and most of them were associated with serovars, enteritidis and typhimurium. This study was aimed at evaluating the antibacterial activity of tea tree oil (TTO) liposomes-loaded chitosan electrospun nanofilms against Salmonella (S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis) on chicken meat. Liposomes were prepared using TTO at a concentration of 6.0 mg/mL. The particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential and entrapment efficiency of prepared liposomes were 144.3 ± 1.08 nm, 0.230 ± 0.012, −54.7 ± 2.01 mV and 39.20 ± 1.45% respectively. The physical properties of TTO liposomes/chitosan nanofibers were also determined. The nanofiber membranes embedded with liposome-encapsulated TTO exhibited high antibacterial activity against Salmonella, which had almost no impact on the sensory properties of chicken meat. Results showed that around 5 log10 reductions of Salmonella were observed in chicken meat by TTO liposomes/chitosan nanofibers treatment for 4 days at 12 °C and 25 °C. The investigation thus showed that the prepared TTO liposomes/chitosan nanofibers can prevent the microbial contamination by Salmonella to extend the shelf life of chicken meat.