The demand for natural products in the treatment of dermatological pathologies has boosted the use of bioactive substances such as lavender essential oil (LEO), which stands out for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and its antimicrobial potential. Biopolymers such as chitosan (CHT) and alginate (ALG) are biodegradable and biocompatible and have proven their viability in biomedical applications such as skin regeneration. The inhibitory effect of LEO on the growth of skin-related bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the fungus Candida albicans was studied by incorporating 1% v/v LEO encapsulated in CHT, ALG, and CHT/ALG membranes. Despite the verification of the antimicrobial effect of all type of membranes, no synergistic effect was observed following the addition of LEO. S. aureus and P. aeruginosa showed the most growth on the different substrates and C. albicans demonstrated the highest inhibition. This is a first approach using microorganisms isolated from clinical samples or skin microbiota. Further investigation would be advisable using more clinical strains for each microorganism to validate their biomedical applicability.
Keywords: antimicrobial activity; chitosan/alginate membranes; lavender essential oil.