Synergistic Effects of Nanocomposite Films Containing Essential Oil Nanoemulsions in Combination with Ionizing Radiation for Control of Rice Weevil Sitophilus oryzae in Stored Grains.

The fumigant toxicity of eight individual essential oils (EOs; basil, cinnamon, eucalyptus, mandarin, oregano, peppermint, tea tree, and thyme) and one binary combination (thyme and oregano) for control of the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae, were investigated. In bioassays, all individual and combined EOs were toxic to the rice weevil. Eucalyptus EO exhibited the highest toxicity among the individual EO treatments, causing 100% mortality at a minimum concentration of 0.8 µL/mL after 24 hr of exposure. The combination treatment of oregano and thyme EO displayed higher fumigant activity than the individual oregano or thyme treatments. A stable oil-in-water nanoemulsion was evaluated using high-pressure homogenization (microfluidization [MF]) and varying the pressure and number of cycles. The droplet size of the emulsions was found to decrease from 217 to 71 nm and encapsulation efficiency increased from 37% to 84% with increasing MF pressure and number of cycles. The optimum conditions for preparing the mixture of oregano and thyme EO nanoemulsions were evaluated to be homogenization pressure of 103 MPa and three cycles. Incorporating an oregano:thyme nanoemulsion (0.75%) into cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) containing chitosan (CH/CNC), methyl cellulose (MC/CNC), and polylactic acid (PLA/CNC) composite films resulted in extended diffusion matrices causing 32% to 51% rice weevil mortality after 14 days exposure. Irradiation at 200 Gray alone caused 79% mortality and increased to 100% when combined with the bioactive chitosan film containing the oregano:thyme nanoemulsion. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: A binary combination of oregano:thyme has potential as a biopesticide against stored product pests. The encapsulation of EO nanoemulsions into biopolymeric support could be used for bioactive packaging to prevent food spoilage and extend shelf life. Combining bioactive films with irradiation can provide complete control of rice weevil in packaged rice. The system developed in this research may also be extended to explore other food-packaging films with various food models to control different types of stored pests.

Hossain F ，Follett P ，Salmieri S ，Vu KD ，Harich M ，Lacroix M ... -  《-》

Antifungal activities of combined treatments of irradiation and essential oils (EOs) encapsulated chitosan nanocomposite films in in vitro and in situ conditions.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) reinforced chitosan based antifungal films were prepared by encapsulating essential oils (EOs) nanoemulsion. Vapor phase assays of the chitosan-based nanocomposite films loaded with thyme-oregano, thyme-tea tree and thyme-peppermint EO mixtures showed significant antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, and Penicillium chrysogenum, reducing their growth by 51-77%. Combining the bioactive chitosan films loaded with thyme and oregano EOs produced ~2 log reduction in fungal growth in inoculated rice during 8 weeks of storage at 28 °C. The bioactive films showed a slow release (26%) of volatile components over 12 weeks of storage. Sensorial evaluation of rice samples packed with the bioactive films showed no significant change in odor, taste, color and general appreciation compared with untreated rice. Incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with the chitosan matrix played an important role in stabilizing the physicochemical and release properties of the nanocomposite films. In addition, combining the bioactive chitosan films with a dose of 750 Gy of ionizing radiation showed significantly higher antifungal and mechanical properties than treatment with the bioactive film or irradiation alone.

Hossain F ，Follett P ，Salmieri S ，Vu KD ，Fraschini C ，Lacroix M ... -  《-》

Synergistic activities of gaseous oregano and thyme thymol essential oils against Listeria monocytogenes on surfaces of a laboratory medium and radish sprouts.

We investigated combinations of gaseous essential oils (EO gases) for their synergistic inhibitory activities against Listeria monocytogenes on a laboratory medium and radish sprouts. The minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum lethal concentrations of oregano, thyme thymol, and cinnamon bark EO gases against L. monocytogenes were 0.0781 μL/mL on nutrient agar supplemented with glucose and bromocresol purple (NGBA). A checkerboard assay showed that combinations of oregano and thyme thymol EO gases and of oregano and cinnamon bark EO gases exert the strongest synergistic antilisterial activity (fractional inhibitory concentration index [FICI] = 0.3750). A combination of thyme thymol and cinnamon bark EO gases also had a synergistic effect (FICI = 0.5000) on L. monocytogenes on NGBA. Combinations of oregano and thyme thymol EO gases were tested for synergistic antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes on radish sprouts. A combination of these gases, each at 0.313 μL/mL, caused a significant (P ≤ 0.05) reduction in the number of L. monocytogenes on radish sprouts compared with reductions caused by treatment with oregano or thyme thymol EO gas alone at the same concentration. Our findings provide information that will be useful when developing antimicrobial applications using EO gases to control L. monocytogenes in the food industry.

Cho Y ，Kim H ，Beuchat LR ，Ryu JH ... -  《-》

Effect of thyme and oregano essential oils on the shelf life of salmon and seaweed burgers.

Dolea D ，Rizo A ，Fuentes A ，Barat JM ，Fernández-Segovia I ... -  《-》

Effect of quince seed mucilage edible films incorporated with oregano or thyme essential oil on shelf life extension of refrigerated rainbow trout fillets.

The effects of quince seed mucilage film (QSMF) containing oregano (O) or thyme (T) essential oil on shelf life extension of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets during refrigerated storage (4°C) were evaluated over a period of 18days. Films were prepared in four different concentrations of essential oils, including 0, 1, 1.5 and 2%. The control and the wrapped fillet samples were analyzed periodically for microbiological (aerobic and psychrotrophic count, Pseudomonas spp., H2S-producing bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and Enterobacteriaceae), chemical (TBA, TVB-N, TMA-N), and sensory characteristics. Bacteria grew most quickly in trout fillets stored in air, followed by those wrapped with QSMF and the lowest counts were in wrapped samples with QSMF+2%T. Pseudomonas spp., Enterobacteriaceae and LAB counts were significantly lower in samples wrapped with QSMF+2%T. The lowest TBA value was obtained in fillets wrapped QSMF containing 2% oregano essential oil. The strong antioxidant activity of QSMF+2%O was related to the composition of oregano essential oil. The GC analysis of essential oil components revealed that carvacrol (81.85%) was the major component of oregano essential oil. TBA value varied for all treatments and remained lower than 2mg MDA/kg throughout storage. The formation of TVB-N, TMA-N increased with time of storage. TVB-N and TMA-N correlated well with the microbiological data, indicating that along with TVB-N, TMA-N may serve as a useful index for fillets spoilage. QSMF extended the microbial shelf life of rainbow trout fillets by 2days, whereas the QSMF+1%O, QSMF+1.5%O, QSMF+2%O, QSMF+1%T, QSMF+1.5%T and QSMF+2%T resulted in a significant shelf life extension of the trout fillets by 3, 5, 9, 6, 10 and 11days, respectively, as compared to the control samples.

Jouki M ，Yazdi FT ，Mortazavi SA ，Koocheki A ，Khazaei N ... -  《-》