This work has focused on developing cellulose nanofibers
(CNFs)/polylactic acid (PLA) coated with ethanolic
extract of propolis (EEP). First, the chemical
composition of EEP was studied in order to determine
the major compounds. Composites were then prepared
using solvent casting method, with the goal of making
green composites. The effectiveness of EEP was evaluated
for its antibacterial and antifungal properties,
using standard protocol of disc diffusion method
(DDM). Chemical analysis of EEP indicated that the
propolis samples had high concentrations of the aromatic
acids, phenolics, esters, and other derivatives,
which are responsible for the antibacterial and antifungal
properties of propolis. Experimental results indicated
that EEP had a considerable antibacterial
activity against most of tested pathogen strains. In
general, the surface of modified CNFs/PLA films
showed antibacterial activity against Gram-positive
bacteria, even at very low concentrations of EEP. The
addition of EEP to the tested films drastically
increased the antibacterial effect against Grampositive,
such as Bacillus anthracis, Staphylococcus
aureus, and Salmonella enteric, while there was no
effect on Gram-negative bacteria. Moreover, the results
pointed out the inhibitory action of EEP on Candida
albicans