Citrus Essential Oils’ Nano-emulsions: Formulation and Characterization
Abstract
The use of citrus essential oils nano-emulsions (CEO-NE) plays a crucial role in enhancing food safety. This is achieved through various mechanisms such as the enhancement of organoleptic properties, increased bioavailability of bioactive components from essential oils, controlled release of key compounds for long-term efficacy, and extension of the shelf life of food and beverages (antioxidant and antimicrobial activity). In this work, CEO-NEs, formulated with different types of citrus essential oils, Tween 80, and alcohol, were obtained by magnetic stirring combined with ultrasound method. The main component of CEO-NEs was D-limonene (31.37% bergamot-loaded nano-emulsions, 48.81 % tangerine-loaded nano-emulsions, 87.82 % orange-loaded nano- emulsions, 87.09 % grapefruit-loaded nano-emulsions, 48.53 % lemon-loaded nano-emulsions). The selected formulations demonstrated a mean droplet diameter of 47.285 nm. The nano-emulsions were stable even after 30 days of storage (except tangerine nano-emulsions). The bergamot-loaded nano-emulsion had the highest antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, while Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes seemed to be more resistant to citrus nano-emulsions.
a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).