Nanoencapsulation of Mandarin Essential Oil: Fabrication, Characterization, and Storage Stability.

Amer Ali Mahdi,Qais Ali Al-Maqtari,Lin Lin,Haiying Cui,Jalaleldeen Khaleel Mohammed,Waleed Al-Ansi,Sahibzada Muhammad Aqeel

doi:10.3390/foods11010054

Abstract

This study evaluates the combined efficiency of whey protein isolate (WPI) with maltodextrin (MD) and gum arabic (GA), as a delivery system for encapsulating Citrus reticulata essential oil (CEO). The wall materials blended at different rates were produced to obtain seven formulations of nanocapsules (NCEO), namely NCEO-GA, NCEO-MD, NCEO-WPI, NCEO-GA/MD, NCEO-GA/WPI, NCEO-MD/WPI, and NCEO-GA/MD/WPI. The interaction between CEO and WPI was simulated by molecular docking. Findings showed that the physicochemical characteristics and storage stability of formulations containing WPI were considerably improved. The NCEO-GA/MD/WPI formulation demonstrated the optimum values of encapsulation efficiency (92.08%), highest glass transition temperature (79.11 °C), high crystallinity (45.58%), high thermal stability (mass loss at 100 °C < 5%), and also had the highest antioxidant activity and lowest peroxide value after storage. This study demonstrated that combining WPI with MD and GA, as wall material encapsulation, can produce nanocapsules with superior properties to those created using polysaccharides individually.

Highlights

The results indicate that mixtures of wall materials, especially the triple mixture of gum arabic (GA), MD, and WP, yielded better results than single wall materials, which contributed to improving the encapsulation efficiency and enhancing the stability of the Citrus reticulata essential oil (CEO) nanocapsules during storage
This study aimed to enhance the encapsulation efficiency of CEO using the whey protein isolate (WPI) with a combination of GA and MD, as wall materials
The interaction between CEO and WPI was confirmed by molecular docking

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Citrus (Rutaceae, Aurantioideae, Citrinae) is a diverse genus that includes many species. Mandarin (C. reticulata Blanco) is one of the species of Citrus [1]. The essential oils (EOs) of mandarin have a high content of active compounds, including phenolic, antioxidants, and antibacterial compounds [2,3]. Using plant-derived bioactive compounds in food products has several limitations, including their sensitivity to light, enzymes, temperature, oxygen, low stability, and pH [4]. Nutraceuticals and food industries have started adopting new techniques that utilize natural biopolymer systems to deliver the natural bioactive compounds and protect them during treatment and storage [5]

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Conclusion