The Lythrum salicaria L. plant, from the Lythraceae family, has multiple beneficial effects on the human body, through pharmacological properties imprinted by its secondary metabolites, namely tannins.
Chitosan-based biomedical materials are of increasing interest precisely due to the uniqueness of their properties, namely biocompatibility, nontoxicity, biodegradability, antimicrobial and antioxidant nature. The combination of chitosan with the plant extract aimed at obtaining new matrices, with clearly superior characteristics, compared to each material (chitosan and plant extract). This could be due to the presence of amino groups in the structure of chitosan, known to be active at a pH slightly acidic and which could be chemically bound to the phenolic groups of tannic acids (the predominant components of the plant extract).
The study aimed to obtain for the first-time mixtures of different concentrations of aqueous solutions of Lythri herba plant extract with standard chitosan 1 % in lactic acid (1 %) solution, which allowed achieving compatible and stable membranes. Microscopic evaluation of the membranes were made, following the uniformity of the surfaces, the homogeneity, the distribution of chitosan relative to the extract, and their stability in PBS saline buffer. The behavior of these membranes gives us a perspective on their use in dentistry and pharmaceuticals.
In addition, the current paper has shown the existence of chitosan in the composition of the obtained membranes and their ability to maintain constant hydration and flexibility over a certain period.