Basil Essential Oil: Composition, Antimicrobial Properties, and Microencapsulation to Produce Active Chitosan Films for Food Packaging

Abstract

The essential oil (EO) from basil—Ocimum basilicum—was characterized, microencapsulated by vibration technology, and used to prepare a new type of packaging system designed to extend the food shelf life. The basil essential oil (BEO) chemical composition and antimicrobial activity were analyzed, as well as the morphological and biological properties of the derived BEO microcapsules (BEOMC). Analysis of BEO by gas chromatography demonstrated that the main component was linalool, whereas the study of its antimicrobial activity showed a significant inhibitory effect against all the microorganisms tested, mostly Gram-positive bacteria. Moreover, the prepared BEOMC showed a spheroidal shape and retained the EO antimicrobial activity. Finally, chitosan-based edible films were produced, grafted with BEOMC, and characterized for their physicochemical and biological properties. Since their effective antimicrobial activity was demonstrated, these films were tested as packaging system by wrapping cooked ham samples during 10 days of storage, with the aim of their possible use to extend the shelf life of the product. It was demonstrated that the obtained active film can both control the bacterial growth of the cooked ham and markedly inhibit the pH increase of the packaged food.

Nanoencapsulation of basil essential oil alleviates the oxidative stress, genotoxicity and DNA damage in rats exposed to biosynthesized iron nanoparticles

“…The GC-MS analysis of BEO showed the isolation of 48 compounds and Linalool, 1,8-Cineole, (z)-isoeugeno, α-trans-bergamotene, 1-epi-cubenol, (Z)-Anethole, trans-muurola-4-(14),5-diene and €-Caryophyllene besides some other compounds were found in a concentration less than 2%. These results are similar to the recent report by Amor et al. (2021) and Benedec et al.…”

A glance at the chemodiversity of Ocimum species: Trends, implications, and strategies for the quality and yield improvement of essential oil

“…Further, the essential oil of O . basilicum has been applied to prepare edible coating and food packaging system to increase food shelf-life (Amor et al 2021 ; Mohammadi et al 2021 ). The various fragrant compounds from Ocimum species essential oil have found utility in personal care products like soaps, mouthwashes, perfumes, hair care, and dental products (Tucker and DeBaggio 2000 ).…”

Mixing Oil-Based Microencapsulation of Garlic Essential Oil: Impact of Incorporating Three Commercial Vegetable Oils on the Stability of Emulsions

“…Microencapsulation is the most common technology used in the protection of essential oil, masking unpleasant orders and enhancing the solubility, including spray drying, coacervation, spray congealing, molecular inclusion, and so on [ 9 ]. Among them, spray drying is a highly promising microencapsulation technique for embedding GEO in the food industry because of its high flexibility, low economic costs, and continuously operating characteristics [ 10 ].…”