physicochemical characteristics of nanoliposome garlic (allium sativum l.) essential oil and its antibacterial effect on escherichia coli o157:h7

background: escherichia coli o157:h7 is a gram-negative and facultative anaerobic food-borne bacterial pathogen. the major purpose of this study was to evaluate physicochemical characteristics of nanoliposome garlic essential oil (eo) and its antibacterial effect on e. coli o157:h7. methods: nanoliposome garlic eo was prepared by ethanol injection method and its physicochemical properties were evaluated. after inoculation of e. coli o157:h7 to experimental groups, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were assessed. data were analyzed using spss software (version 16.0). results: the average particle sizes of prepared nanoliposomes were 131.73±14.31 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.212±0.013. the percentage of liposome permeability after 5, 10, 30, and 50 days were 0.46%, 2.47%, 5.63%, as well as 7.29%, respectively, revealing significant difference (p<0.05) among various intervals. also, the minimum inhibitory concentration as well as minimum bactericidal concentration values of the nanoliposome encapsulated garlic eo against e. coli o157:h7 were 0.02% and 0.03%, respectively, and for non-encapsulated eo were 0.03% and 0.04%, respectively. conclusion: nanoliposome encapsulated garlic eo showed enhancing antimicrobial activity against e. coli o157:h7 in comparison with the non-encapsulated one.