Stable encapsulation of camellia oil in core-shell zein nanofibers fabricated by emulsion electrospinning.

This study aimed to develop core-shell nanofibers by emulsion electrospinning using zein-stabilized emulsions to encapsulate camellia oil effectively. The increasing oil volume fraction (φ from 10% to 60%) increased the apparent viscosity and average droplet size of emulsions, resulting in the average diameter of electrospun fibers increasing from 124.5 nm to 286.2 nm. The oil droplets as the core were randomly distributed in fibers in the form of beads, and the core-shell structure of fibers was observed in TEM images. FTIR indicated that hydrogen bond interactions occurred between zein and camellia oil molecules. The increasing oil volume fraction enhanced the thermal stability, hydrophobicity, and water stability of electrospun nanofiber films. The core-shell nanofibers with 10%, 20%, 40%, and 60% camellia oil showed encapsulation efficiency of 78.53%, 80.25%, 84.52%, and 84.39%, respectively, and had good storage stability. These findings contribute to developing zein-based core-shell electrospun fibers to encapsulate bioactive substances.

Recent advances in the extraction, chemical composition, therapeutic potential, and delivery of cardamom phytochemicals.

Dietary phytochemicals including plant-derived alkaloids, carotenoids, organosulfur compounds, phenolics, and phytosterols, are health-promoting bioactive compounds that help in the prevention and mitigation of chronic diseases and microbial infections beyond basic nutrition supply. This article covers recent advances in the extraction, chemical composition, therapeutic potential (nutraceutical and antimicrobial), and delivery of black and green cardamom-derived phytochemicals. In recent years, advance extraction techniques (e.g., enzyme- assisted-, instant controlled pressure drop-, microwave- assisted-, pressurized liquid-, sub- critical-, supercritical fluid-, and ultrasound-assisted extractions) have been applied to obtain phytochemicals from cardamom. The bioactive constituents identification techniques, specifically GC-MS analysis revealed that 1,8-cineole and α-terpinyl acetate were the principle bioactive components in black and green cardamom. Regarding therapeutic potential, research findings have indicated desirable health properties of cardamom phytochemicals, including antioxidant-, anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-platelet aggregation, anti-hypertensive, and gastro-protective effects. Moreover, antimicrobial investigations revealed that cardamom phytochemicals effectively inhibited growth of pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria and fungi), biofilm formation inhibition (Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria) and bacterial quorum sensing inhibition. Encapsulation and delivery vehicles, including microcapsules, nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, and nanoliposomes were effective strategies to enhance their stability, bioavailability and bioefficacy. In conclusion, cardamom phytochemicals had promising therapeutic potentials (antioxidant and antimicrobial) due to polyphenols, thus could be used as functional additive to increase shelf life, inhibit oxidative rancidity and confer pleasant aroma to commercial edibles as well as mitigate oxidative stress and lifestyle related chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases). A future perspective concerning the fabrication of functional foods, nutraceuticals and antibiotics to promote cardamom phytochemicals applications as biotherapeutic agents at large-scale requires thorough investigations, e.g., optimum dose and physical form of supplementation to obtain maximum health benefits.

Soy oil and SPI based-oleogels structuring with glycerol monolaurate by emulsion-templated approach: Preparation, characterization and potential application.

In this study, soybean oil-based oleogels were prepared using soy-protein isolate (SPI) and glycerol monolaurate (GML) in an emulsion-template approach. The rheological, texture, microstructure, and oil-retention properties of the obtained oleogels were analyzed. Results showed that the soy oil-based oleogel prepared with 6 wt% GML exhibited high oil loss, low-hardness, and needle-like morphology compared to the soy-oil/SPI-based oleogel. On the other hand, soy oil-based /SPI-based oleogels structured by 3 or 6 wt% GML presented moderate thermal-stability and lowest oil loss than those prepared without GML. Furthermore, SPI-based oleogel containing 6 wt% GML showed highest free fatty acids release (62.07%) with significantly improved elastic modulus and apparent viscosity. Additionally, the obtained oleogels displayed the occurrence of van der Waals interactions and intermolecular hydrogen bonds, presenting enhanced thermal stability. These results contribute to a better understanding of oleogelation-based emulsions for formulating trans-free and low-saturated foodstuffs with desired physical and functional properties.