Preparation and characterization of a novel nanoemulsion consisting of chitosan and Cinnamomum tamala essential oil and its effect on shelf-life lengthening of stored millets

This study aimed to improve the stability of Cinnamomum tamala essential oil (CTEO) via encapsulating into chitosan nanoemulsion (CsNe) through an ionic-gelation technique and explore its food preservative efficacy against aflatoxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus (AFLHPSi-1, isolated from stored millet), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination, and lipid peroxidation, causing qualitative deterioration of stored millets. The CTEO was characterized through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis that confirmed the presence of linalool as a major component occupying approximately 82.64% of the total oil. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC) of CTEO-CsNe were found to be 97.71% and 3.33%, respectively. In vitro release study showed a biphasic release pattern: with an initial burst release followed by a controlled release of CTEO. During investigation of efficacy, the CTEO-CsNe caused complete inhibition of A. flavus growth, and AFB1 biosynthesis at 1.0 and 0.8 μL/mL, respectively. The CTEO-CsNe exhibited its antifungal mode of action by altering fungal plasma membrane integrity (ergosterol inhibition) and permeability (leakage of important cellular constituents), and antiaflatoxigenic mode of action by inhibiting cellular methylglyoxal biosynthesis. CTEO-CsNe showed high free radical scavenging capacity (IC50 = 5.08 and 2.56 μL/mL) against DPPH•+ and ABTS•+ radicals, respectively. In addition, CTEO-CsNe presented remarkable preservative efficacy, inhibiting AFB1 and lipid peroxidation in model food system (Setaria italica) without altering their organoleptic properties. Based on overall results, CTEO-CsNe can be recommended as a novel shelf-life enhancer of stored millet samples.