Evaluation of the Potential Effects of Olive Wood Flour ( Olea Europaea L. ) and Essential Oils on Antimicrobial Activity of Pla-Based Films

This work focused on the development of active film used for food packaging based on Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) reinforced with olive wood flour (OWF). The biofilm was produced by solvent casting with different wood flour contents, where the OW0, OW1, OW3, OW5, and OW10 biofilms were chosen (0, 1, 3, 5 and 10 wt.%). To improve the antibacterial and antifungal activities, three types of essential oils (EO), namely sweet orange (OEO), cinnamon ceylon (CEO) and thyme linalool (TEO) were tested. Furthermore, the biofilms antimicrobial activities were investigated by the agar well diffusion method. The two fungus Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) and Penicillium were used for the different biofilms. The best activity was observed in the OW3 with the presence of fluconazole. The CEO showed the best antifungal activity against A. flavus and Penicillium and against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (Gram-positive bacteria) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) ( Gram-negative bacteria) as well. As a conclusion, it can be confirmed that the OWF has a synergic effect with CEO on antifungal activity, and CEO could be a good antimicrobial agent to replace antibiotics like