Paeonia tenuifolia L. (steppe peony) petal extract was proficiently encapsulated into liposomes and biopolymer films in the current work, both times utilizing a single-step procedure. The encapsulation efficiency, size of the particles, and index of polydispersity (PDI), as well as the ζ potential of the obtained liposomes were determined, whereas in the case of films, the test included moisture content and mechanical property assessment. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to evaluate the chemical composition and existence of numerous interactions in the systems. All the obtained encapsulates were subjected to antibacterial, antifungal and antibiofilm activity testing of the pathogens associated with human skin. The results indicated that the liposomes prepared using Phospholipon had the highest encapsulation efficiency (72.04%), making them the most favorable ones in the release study as well. The biological assays also revealed that Phospholipon was the most beneficial phospholipid mixture for the preparation of liposomes, whereas the film containing these liposomes did not have the ability to inhibit pathogen growth, making the double encapsulation of P. tenuifolia L. petal extract needless. These findings may be a first step toward the potential use of steppe peony extract-loaded films and liposomes in pharmaceutical and cosmetical industries.
Keywords: biological activity; biopolymer films; encapsulation; liposomes; peony.