Antimicrobial Activity of Cashew Gum–Gelatin Coacervates as a Food Ingredient

Abstract

Cashew gum is an exudate whose exploitation has social and environmental benefits for Brazil. In addition to presenting a film-forming ability similar to that of gum arabic in microencapsulation applications, cashew gum can provide biological advantages. In this work, cashew gum was employed to form coacervates with gelatin, and their antimicrobial action was assessed. Conditions defined for complexation enabled the encapsulation of thyme essential oil, a natural antimicrobial agent, with an encapsulation efficiency of 70.9 ± 0.01% and a complexation yield of 35.1%. Particles and complexes without oil showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The particles with cashew gum and gelatin protected the volatile compounds in thyme essential oil, making its biological activity more efficient than that of free oil alone. The particles without oil did not have equally high activity against bacteria, but they showed moderate inhibition, which reinforces the suggestion that combining the antimicrobial activity of cashew gum and thyme essential oil promotes improved protection.

Long-Term Lead Immobilization in River Sediment by Ca(OH)2-Modified Rice Straw Biochar

“…When the pH was lower than 6.0, the zeta potential was negative, which indicated adsorption of Pb 2+ by electrostatic attraction. A higher pH can increase the surface charge mainly via deprotonation of hydroxyl and carboxylic groups. , …”

“…A higher pH can increase the surface charge mainly via deprotonation of hydroxyl and carboxylic groups. 52,53…”

Cashew tree gum for biomaterials engineering: A versatile raw material in consolidation

“…Overall, the CG molar mass ranges from approximately 1.5 × 10 4 –2.3 × 10 4 gmol −1 31,32 . Due to the presence of glucuronic acid groups, CG can associate with positively charged species.…”

“…CG, crude and purified, has many reported biological properties. The most reported activity is as an antimicrobial agent, 32,60,63,64 but its anticancer effect, 65 antiinflammatory and gastroprotectant action have also been previously described. 66,67 The proliferation of several microorganisms can be successfully inhibited by CG by treating the ground gum with ammonium sulfate (80% saturation) followed by precipitate dissolution, dialysis and lyophilization.…”

“…CG, crude and purified, has many reported biological properties. The most reported activity is as an antimicrobial agent, 32,60,63,64 but its anticancer effect, 65 anti‐inflammatory and gastroprotectant action have also been previously described 66,67 …”