Chitosan nanoparticles loaded with garlic essential oil: A new alternative to tebuconazole as seed dressing agent.

In this study, garlic essential oil (GEO) has been encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles (NPCH) with sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP). Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, UV-vis spectrophotometry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were applied to characterize GEO-NPCH. The obtained nanoparticles exhibited a regular distribution and spherical shape with size range of 200-400 nm as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The maximum encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC) of GEO-loaded chitosan nanoparticles were about 32.8% and 19.8% respectively. Nanoparticle formulations of GEO were found to have antifungal activity against Aspergillus versicolor, A. niger and Fusarium oxysporum. In addition, they showed growth promoting effects by increasing emergence, shoot and root fresh weight on wheat, oat and barley.