Application of essential oils as slow-release antimicrobial agents in food preservation: Preparation strategies, release mechanisms and application cases

Abstract

Food spoilage caused by foodborne microorganisms will not only cause significant economic losses, but also the toxins produced by some microorganisms will also pose a serious threat to human health. Essential oil (EOs) has significant antimicrobial activity, but its application in the field of food preservation is limited because of its volatile, insoluble in water and sensitive to light and heat. Therefore, in order to solve these problems effectively, this paper first analyzed the antibacterial effect of EOs as an antimicrobial agent on foodborne bacteria and its mechanism. Then, the application strategies of EOs as a sustained-release antimicrobial agent in food preservation were reviewed. On this basis, the release mechanism and application cases of EOs in different antibacterial composites were analyzed. The purpose of this paper is to provide technical support and solutions for the preparation of new antibacterial packaging materials based on plant active components to ensure food safety and reduce food waste.

Keywords:

• Essential oil
• antibacterial mechanism
• apply strategy
• release mechanism
• delivery systems
• encapsulation strategy

Authors’ contributions

Jindi Wang: Visualization, Methodology. Fangyuan Zhao: Visualization, Methodology. Qianyu Li and Jinglin Huang: Writing-review, Supervision. Qingli Yang and Jian Ju: Conceptualization, Investigation, Data curation, Writing.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32202192), Special fund for Taishan Scholars Project, The research of Nano bionic biodegradable antibacterial packaging for Ocean food (2422191).