Enhance food security: Sustained release of clove essential oil microcapsules

Foodborne illnesses remain a significant concern in the realm of public health. Managing food spoilage and controlling pathogenic microorganisms rely on synthetic chemicals, regrettably accompanied by various unfavourable attributes. In response to the escalating demand for innovative and secure alternative approaches, there has been a surge in the investigation of naturally sourced agents possessing antimicrobial characteristics, among which essential oils stand out. This study focuses on improving the stability of clove essential oil (CEO), and to achieve controlled release, the CEO microcapsules are prepared by solvent evaporation method with ethyl cellulose as the wall material. The results indicated optimum technological conditions: wall material mass fraction of 3%, core wall ratio of 1.0:1.5, emulsifier mass fraction of 8% and shear rate of 14000 r/min. Under these conditions, the encapsulation efficiency is 81.28%, and the yield rate is 90.58%. The CEOM were spherical with a size of 1.43-3.92 μm and had good thermal stability. The microcapsule under 50% ethanol showed a faster release rate and significant release amount. The microencapsulation of CEO with ethyl cellulose can not only improve the stability of CEO but also realise the controlled release of CEO, which has tremendous application value in antibacterial packaging. Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2025, 39(4), 749-761. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v39i4.11