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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #389039
Research Project: Integration and Validation of Alternative and Multiple Intervention Technologies to Enhance Microbial Safety, Quality, and Shelf-life of Food

Location: Microbial and Chemical Food Safety

Title: Application of yellow mustard mucilage and starch in nanoencapsulation of thymol and carvacrol by emulsion electrospray

Author
item ANTO, P.R.C - Tennessee State University
item MU, RICHARD - Tennessee State University
item Jin, Zhonglin
item LI, DEYU - Vanderbilt University
item PAN, ZHILIANG - Vanderbilt University
item RAKSHIT, SUDIPTA - Tennessee State University
item CUI, STEVE - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item WU, YING - Tennessee State University

Submitted to: Carbohydrate Polymers
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/20/2022
Publication Date: 9/24/2022
Citation: Anto, P., Mu, R., Jin, Z.T., Li, D., Pan, Z., Rakshit, S., Cui, S.W., Wu, Y. 2022. Application of yellow mustard mucilage and starch in nanoencapsulation of thymol and carvacrol by emulsion electrospray. Carbohydrate Polymers. 298:120148.

Interpretive Summary: The use of natural polymers and antimicrobials in antimicrobial food packaging is significantly growing due to increased health and environmental awareness. This study was conducted to encapsulate highly volatile essential oils (thymol/carvacrol) within the yellow mustard mucilage/starch matrix by electrospraying. The developed nanocapsules had diameters ranging between 70.3 to 95.56 nm with enhanced antimicrobial effects against foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. This study demonstrates an effective approach to develop antimicrobial food packaging with natural biopolymers and essential oils using electrospraying technology.

Technical Abstract: This study was conducted to encapsulate highly volatile thymol/carvacrol (TC) within the yellow mustard mucilage/starch (SW) matrix by electrospraying. Optimization of processing parameters and solution dynamics assisted in generating uniform nanocapsules with higher encapsulation efficiency up to 84.11%. The morphological study confirmed the non-porous spherical structure of nanocapsules and the particles’ diameter ranged between 70.3 to 95.56 nm. Nanocapsules with 30% TC exhibited enhanced antimicrobial effects against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella dublin, and Pseudomonas fluorescens, compared with nanocapsules without TC. Release kinetics of TC from the nanocapsules followed a controlled release pattern up to 180 h. Overall results show that the electrospray SW matrix can act as a delivery carrier for encapsulating hydrophobic bioactive compounds and control their release. This study demonstrates an effective approach to develop antimicrobial food packaging with natural biopolymers and essential oils using electrospraying technology.