Tiwari, ShikhaUpadhyay, NehaSingh, Bijendra KumarSingh, Vipin KumarDubey, Nawal Kishore2025-01-272025-01-27202219355130https://dl.bhu.ac.in/ir/handle/123456789/14324The study presents chitosan nanoemulsion encapsulating Cinnamomum glaucescens essential oil (CGEO) as a novel green preservative against food born fungi and aflatoxin B1 production in food system. GC�MS analysis suggested 1,8-cineole (46.56%), safrole (17.64%) as major and terpineol (5.88%), 4-terpineol (4.68%), ?-pinene (2.08%), ?-thujene (2.03%), and linalool (2.02%) as minor components of CGEO. SEM, FTIR, and XRD analysis confirmed the successful encapsulation of CGEO in chitosan biopolymer (CGEO-Nm). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of CGEO-Nm showed improved thermal stability of encapsulated CGEO in comparison to unencapsulated CGEO. Encapsulation remarkably improved antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic efficacy of CGEO-Nm (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 0.9 �L/mL and MAIC = 0.8 �L/mL) in comparison to unencapsulated CGEO (MIC = 1.50 �L/mL and MAIC = 1.25 �L/mL). Impairment in ergosterol biosynthesis, leakage of vital cellular ions, as well as 260�nm (DNA and RNA) and 280�nm (protein) absorbing materials confirmed cell membrane as antifungal target site for CGEO-Nm. Reduction in methylglyoxal level suggested novel antiaflatoxigenic mechanism of action. The investigation showed enhanced antioxidant potency of CGEO after encapsulation (IC50 value 5.15 �L/mL and 10.45 �L/mL, respectively, for ABTS and DPPH assays). Furthermore, CGEO-Nm was also found to have remarkable in vivo efficacy as it inhibited lipid peroxidation and mineral loss in black cumin seeds without altering its sensorial attributes. CGEO-Nm also revealed mammalian safety (LD50 = 9132.642�mg/kg) as determined through acute oral toxicity assay. Thus, the findings recommend the applicability of CGEO-Nm as novel green preservative to enhance the shelf life of food commodities along with the maintenance of nutritional characteristics. � 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.Aflatoxin B₁Cinnamomum glaucescens EOLipid peroxidationMethylglyoxalNanoencapsulationArticlehttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-021-02739-3