Abstract
In this study, different amounts of cinnamomum essential oil (CEO) were encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles (NPs) (CS-NPs) through oil-in-water emulsification and ionic gelation. An ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, synchronous thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction were employed to analyze the CEO encapsulation. As observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, NP size analysis and zeta potential, the prepared CS-NPs, containing CEO (CS-CEO), were spherical with uniformly distributed sizes (diameters: 190–340 nm). The ranges of encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC) were 4.6–32.9% and 0.9–10.4%, with variations in the starting weight ratio of CEO to CS from 0.11 to 0.53 (w/w). It was also found that the antioxidant activity of the CS-NPs loaded with CEO increased as the EE increased. The active ingredients of the CEO were prevented from being volatilized, significantly improving the chemical stability. The antioxidant activity of CS-CEO was higher than that of the free CEO. These results indicate the promising potential of CS-CEO as an antioxidant for food processing, and packaging applications.
Highlights
Owing to the potential hazards of artificial food additives to human health, natural, functional, and bioactive ingredients have drawn considerable attention because of their proven health benefits [1].Essential oils (EOs) obtained from medicinal and herbal plants are recognized for their antioxidant properties
The loading capacity (LC) of the Cinnamomum EO (CEO) embedded in CS-NPs was in the range of 0.9–10.4% (Table 1)
CEO was successfully encapsulated in CS-NPs via oil-in-water emulsification and ionic gelation
Summary
Owing to the potential hazards of artificial food additives to human health, natural, functional, and bioactive ingredients have drawn considerable attention because of their proven health benefits [1].Essential oils (EOs) obtained from medicinal and herbal plants are recognized for their antioxidant properties. Cinnamomum EO (CEO), known for its strong inhibitory, microbicidal, and antioxidant properties, as well as other beneficial properties [12], is extracted from tree species that are widely distributed in the tropics and southern subtropical regions. Such properties are mainly due to the presence of cinnamaldehyde, eugenol (the main ingredient of CEO), and monoterpene hydrocarbons at low concentrations [13,14]. CEO has been proven to be a good antibacterial and antioxidant agent because of its volatility and ease of degradation under environmental or processing conditions (e.g., high temperature, low pressure, and presence of air and light), but its utilization in the maintenance of Processes 2020, 8, 834; doi:10.3390/pr8070834 www.mdpi.com/journal/processes
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