The Wu Hong/Yang Zhuohong research group of South China Agricultural University has made new progress in the field of functional evaluation and application of cinnamon essential oil

　　Cinnamon is a characteristic forest resource with great economic value and development potential in Guangdong Province.
Its essential oil has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal and acarid effects, and has great value in the research and development of health products, new drugs and functional materials
.

 

　　Recently, the South China Agricultural University Subtropical Agriculture Biological Resources Conservation and Utilization of national experiments published room, School of Life Sciences Professor Wu Hong undertaken by the Guangdong Provincial Forestry Science and Technology Innovation Project Task Force (2020 impact factor 5.
165) in international academic journals Arabian Journal of Chemistry online Entitled "The variation in essential oils composition, phenolic acids and flavonoids is correlated with changes in antioxidant activity during Cinnamomum loureirii bark growth" research paper (corresponding author is Professor Wu Hong, Associate Researcher Kong Dexin, and the first author is Associate Professor Li Yanqun, https://doi.
org/10.
1016/j.
arabjc.
2021.
103249)
.
the study cinnamon bark oil component (6 ages and different growth antioxidant activity comparisons analyzed further for their total flavonoids extraction , Isolation and antioxidant activity, and combined chemical inquiry method and metrology Antioxidant is closely related to the main chemical components.
Studies have shown that 13- and 14-year-old cinnamon bark essential oil has high antioxidant activity
.
The results of the study provide important theoretical basis and reference materials for the rational harvest and utilization of cinnamon in Vietnam
.

 

　　In view of the versatility of cinnamon essential oil, especially its good application prospects in the field of antibacterial and fresh-keeping, the core member of the research group, Professor Yang Zhuohong from the School of Materials and Energy of our school, carried out the construction and application of cinnamon essential oil-based functional antibacterial fresh-keeping film
.
Related research was recently published online in the international academic journal Carbohydrate Polymers (impact factor of 9.
381 for 2020) under the title "Effect of cellulose nanocrystal-stabilized cinnamon essential oil Pickering emulsions on structure and properties of chitosan composite films" (corresponding author is Professor Yang Zhuohong, Associate Professor Hu Yang, the first author is Liu Jian, a postgraduate student, https://doi.
org/10.
1016/j.
carbpol.
2021.
118704)
.
Applying cinnamon essential oil as an antibacterial and hydrophobic component to biodegradable packaging films based on biomass (such as chitosan) can effectively enhance the water resistance and antibacterial preservation properties of the film material.
However, the poor compatibility of cinnamon essential oil with the film substrate can lead to Cinnamon essential oil is unevenly distributed in the membrane and it is difficult to control the release performance of cinnamon essential oil.
At the same time, adding cinnamon essential oil will significantly reduce the mechanical strength of the membrane, which limits its practical application potential and fields
.
In order to solve the above shortcomings, this study used rigid cellulose nanocrystals as a particle stabilizer to wrap cinnamon essential oil to prepare an oil-in-water cinnamon essential oil Pickering emulsion, and then embedded emulsion droplets in a membrane matrix to construct a loaded cinnamon essential oil The cellulose nanocrystal/chitosan composite degradable cling film
.
The introduction of Pickering emulsion, on the one hand, significantly improves the uniformity of the dispersion of cinnamon essential oil in the film matrix, and improves the release and stability of cinnamon essential oil; on the other hand, the emulsion stabilizes the particle cellulose nanocrystals and acts as a nano-enhancing agent.
, It can significantly reduce the decrease trend of membrane mechanical properties caused by the addition of cinnamon essential oil, thereby ensuring the mechanical stability of the membrane
.
At the same time, the research results show that the prepared edible film can effectively improve the fresh-keeping effect of pork, and can maintain the integrity of the film structure during use.
The prepared film has a good application prospect in the field of food packaging and broadens the application of cinnamon essential oil Field
.

 

　　The above-mentioned research was supported by the Guangdong Forestry Science and Technology Innovation Project, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Guangdong-Guangxi Joint Fund Project (key project) of the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Fund
.
(Photo by Hu Yang, School of Materials and Energy)