Microencapsulation of garlic oil by β‑cyclodextrin as a thermal protection method for antibacterial action

The present study investigated the encapsulation process of garlic oil in β‑cyclodextrin (βCD) and the antibacterial properties of the βCD-garlic oil complex against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The encapsulation method increased the thermal stability of garlic oil with a formation constant (Kc) value of 253.78 L·mol−1 for of the βCD-garlic oil complex, which confirmed the success of the encapsulation process. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the dimensions of the structures formed by the inclusion complex of βCD-garlic oil had values ranging from 5 to 10 μm. After thermal treatment of the βCD-garlic oil complex at 60 °C for 1 h, the complex retained significant antibacterial action. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and agar diffusion results showed that the microcapsules containing 81.73 mmol·L−1 garlic oil exhibited excellent antibacterial action.