Dhanasekaran Solairaj, Liang Lisha, Gurusamy Sivaprakash, Godana Esa Abiso, Yang Qiya, Zhang Hongyin
School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 May;308(Pt 4):142633. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.142633. Epub 2025 Mar 28.
Essential oils have significant efficiency in postharvest infection control; however, their practical application is limited by low solubility and bioavailability. Encapsulating essential oils with nanoparticles has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome these limitations. In this study, chitosan nanoparticles loaded with lemon essential oil (CSNP-LO) were successfully formulated and characterized by DLS, FTIR, XRD and SEM. CSNP-LO demonstrated superior antifungal activity against Penicillium expansum, the causative agent for blue mold decay in apples, with a lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 20 mg mL, compared to LO alone. The CSNP-LO effectively inhibited the spore germination, reduced the germ tube elongation, and suppressed the antioxidant enzyme system in P. expansum spores. In postharvest apples, CSNP-LO significantly reduced blue mold decay incidence by 51.84 % and lesion development by 54.30 % after 7 d of storage. Additionally, CSNP-LO application enhanced the activity of defense-related and antioxidant enzymes, including polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), in apples without compromising their quality. Our findings demonstrate the potential of CSNP-LO as a novel and practical approach for controlling postharvest blue mold in apples, contributing to improved storage and shelf-life of fruit crops.
香精油在采后感染控制方面具有显著效果；然而，其实际应用受到低溶解度和生物利用度的限制。用纳米颗粒包裹香精油已成为克服这些限制的一种有前景的策略。在本研究中，成功制备了负载柠檬香精油的壳聚糖纳米颗粒（CSNP-LO），并通过动态光散射（DLS）、傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、X射线衍射（XRD）和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）对其进行了表征。与单独的柠檬香精油（LO）相比，CSNP-LO对苹果青霉病的病原菌扩展青霉表现出优异的抗真菌活性，最低抑菌浓度（MIC）较低，为20 mg/mL。CSNP-LO有效抑制了扩展青霉孢子的萌发，减少了芽管伸长，并抑制了其抗氧化酶系统。在采后苹果中，储存7天后，CSNP-LO显著降低了青霉病发病率51.84%，并减少了病斑发展54.30%。此外，CSNP-LO的应用增强了苹果中与防御相关和抗氧化酶的活性，包括多酚氧化酶（PPO）、过氧化物酶（POD）、苯丙氨酸解氨酶（PAL）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）和抗坏血酸过氧化物酶（APX），且不影响其品质。我们的研究结果证明了CSNP-LO作为控制苹果采后青霉病的一种新颖实用方法的潜力，有助于改善水果作物的储存和货架期。
