PRELIMINARY STUDY ON ALGINATE CONCENTRATION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF PALMAROSA ESSENTIAL OIL

Objective: Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii (Roxb.)) essential oil has volatile active compounds, therefore, it requires modification of encapsulation to obtain optimum potency. This study investigated the relationship between various alginate concentrations in microencapsulation against the quality of the formula and antibacterial activity. Methods: The study use Palmarosa Essential Oil (PEO) that distillated at Rumah Atsiri, Indonesia. Ionic gelation was used to prepare microencapsulations at different alginate concentrations of 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1.5%. The investigation involved Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), organoleptic, morphological, microencapsulated weight, Encapsulation Efficiency (EE), and antibacterial activity. Results: The organoleptic observation results for all formulas are white in color, have a pronounced PEO scent, and contain spherical particles with macrometer-sized morphology similar to soft beads. The result FTIR showed that F1, F2, and F3 contain aromatic ring, primarily alcohol, alkene, alkyl, and alcohol. The results showed that F1, F2, and F3 were included in the microencapsulation range, namely 5-5,000 µm. Formula III had the greatest EE of 86.53±0.75% and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively showed inhibition zones with diameters of 12.30±0.16 mm and 7.60±0.24 mm. Conclusion: This study revealed that the findings of this study demonstrate that the concentration of alginate in microencapsulation influences the properties and antibacterial activity of PEO. Higher alginate concentrations can lead to increased EE, particle size distribution, and ultimately leading to enhanced antibacterial activity.