Objective: There are serious concerns about the harmful effects of chemical preservatives used in the food industry all over the world. The aim of this study is to determine the antimicrobial activity of controlled release system based on chlorogenic acid as a nutraceutical agent.

Method: Chlorogenic acid-loaded PLGA nanoparticles were synthesized by double emulsion method and characterized by Zeta Sizer device. The encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity were determined. In addition, antimicrobial activity of chlorogenic acid-loaded PLGA nanoparticles on food pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 15442), Salmonella Typhimurium (ATCC 14028) and Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 10033) was investigated by microdilution method.

Results: PLGA nanoparticles with chlorogenic acid loaded was found an average particle size of 228.5±27.8 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.127, and a zeta potential of -4.87±4.82 mV. It was calculated that the encapsulation efficiency of PLGA nanoparticles loaded with chlorogenic acid was 99% and the loading efficiency was 68%. Pseudomonas aeruginosa on 62.5±0.024 μg/mL and Salmonella Typhimurium on 62.5±0.111 μg/mL, and Listeria monocytogenes 125±0.097 μg/mL concentrations were found to show inhibitory effect.

Conclusion: It was determined that the antimicrobial effect of the chlorogenic acid-loaded PLGA nanoparticles on the Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella Typhimurium increased significantly and the results showed less antimicrobial effect on Listeria monocytogenes. It is thought that the produced nanoparticles may have the potential to be used as a preservative in the field of food with further studies.