Fabrication and sustained release behavior of Zanthoxylum bungeanum maxim. essential oil Pickering emulsion stabilized by chayote tuber starch-zein composite nanoparticles

This study aimed to prepare chayote tuber starch (CTS)-zein composite nanoparticles (CZCPs) to stabilize Pickering emulsions for the encapsulation of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. essential oil (ZBEO). The optimized CZCPs were obtained with a 5:5 CTS/Zein ratio at pH 10 using the normal dropwise. The analysis of DSC, XRD, and FTIR revealed the incorporation of zein improved the wettability of CTS via hydrogen bonding, electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. The obtained Pickering emulsion formulated with 12.0 % CZCPs and an oil fraction of 0.5 displayed a higher ZBEO encapsulation efficiency of 95.22%. The analysis of stability revealed the Pickering emulsion exhibited excellent storage stability over 30 days, good thermal stability (30-90°C), and salt stability (100-500 mM). No significant changes ( P > 0.05) in PSD were found across all treatment conditions. Furthermore, the prepared Pickering emulsion effectively delayed the rapid release of ZBEO, with cumulative release rates of 76.18% and 66.38% after 24-h storage at 25°C and 4°C, respectively. Collectively, the prepared CZCPs can serve as a potential solid stabilizer for ZBEO Pickering emulsions. • Chayote tubers starch-zein composite nanoparticles (CZCPs) were successfully fabricated. • The preparation conditions for CZCPs-stabilized Pickering emulsions were optimized. • CZCPs-stabilized Pickering emulsions were effective for the encapsulation of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. essential oil (ZBEO). • The CZCPs-stabilized Pickering emulsions exhibited good sustained-release behavior and enhanced the antibacterial activity of ZBEO.