Nanoencapsulation of Basil Oil for Controlled Release and High Stability in Active Food Packaging Systems

Abstract

The nanoencapsulation of basil essential oil was investigated for use in active food packaging systems. The chemical composition of five basil varieties was analyzed, and white holy basil and red holy basil contained the highest levels of methyl eugenol (372.57 and 335.58 μg/mL, respectively). Three encapsulation methods were compared systematically: the paste method using maltodextrin/gum arabic, vibration technology using calcium alginate, and green evaporation using chitosan. The vibration method exhibited the highest loading efficiency (87.0%), while the paste method had superior controlled release profiles. When using the paste method, a ratio of 25:75 of maltodextrin to gum arabic provided the optimal encapsulation efficiency (9.39%). The release kinetics were first-order models for paste and vibration methods (R²=0.997 and 0.978), while green evaporation was by the Korsmeyer-Peppas model (R²=0.981). Low-density polyethylene films incorporated with chitosan-basil oil (CS_BO) at concentrations of 5-30% were developed, with LDPE/CS_BO10 being the optimal formulation, which exhibited 33% higher Young's modulus, 31% lower water vapor transmission, 54.3% lower oxygen permeability, and 12.8% antioxidant activity compared to neat LDPE. In food application tests, the LDPE/CS_BO10 film retarded the lipid oxidation in chicken breast fillets by 40.3% and 45.2% after 7 and 14 days of storage, respectively. These findings indicate the excellent potential of nanoencapsulation of basil oil for the development of active food packaging, particularly for oxygen-sensitive foods and lipid-rich foods.