FOOD CHEMISTRY
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2026
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IF 10.4
Zhichao Yang,Xiaohong Guo,Ziqiang Qin,Fengjun Guo,Di Wu,Bangdi Liu,Kunsong Chen
A robust hydrogel rapidly fabricated via one-pot method within 2 min. • Integrated functional enhancement by acrylamide, glycerol, and thymol. • PSA/Glyc@THY shows >500 kPa compressive strength and 200-cycle stability. • Hydrogel shows 16.74% weight loss rate in air and 125% swelling ratio in water. • PSA/Glyc@THY inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungi without damaging strawberries. Postharvest fruit preservation faces dual challenges of microbial infection and physical impact, necessitating flexible packaging with integrated antimicrobial and mechanical functions. Leveraging acrylamide's (AM) high polymerization activity, efficient redox initiator, methacryloxyethyl sulfobetaine's (SBMA) physical crosslinking synergy, and glycerol's (Glyc) dual function in reducing viscosity and promoting hydrogen bonding, this study achieved rapid gelation within two min to construct PSA/Glyc@THY hydrogel. The material exhibited exceptional mechanical strength (compressive strength of 518.01 kPa, stable over 200 cycles) and remarkable environmental stability (water loss <20% in open air, swelling ratio 125.36%). The 1% thymol-loaded hydrogel showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity ( Escherichia coli : 78.9% OD 600 reduction; Staphylococcus aureus : 80.7%; Botrytis cinerea : 24.30 mm inhibition zone), completely suppressing mold on strawberries without surface damage, with confirmed biocompatibility. This study offers a promising solution for flexible fruit packaging that integrates antimicrobial and mechanical functions to reduce postharvest losses during transportation and storage. Download: Download high-res image (246KB) Download: Download full-size image
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JOURNAL OF DRUG DELIVERY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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2025
·
IF 4.9
Dan Huang,SuQiu Si,Zhuoming Chen,Binjie Xin
In this study, a novel nanofiber material possessing antibacterial and antioxidant properties was fabricated through coaxial electrospinning, utilizing polylactic acid (PLA), thymol (THY), and nano zinc oxide (ZnO) as the raw materials. THY and ZnO was used to endows the membranes with good antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The surface morphology of the PLA/Z@T nanofiber membrane was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additionally, the successful formation of the core-shell structure was verified through transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fluorescence microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Additionally, both ZnO and THY exhibit strong antibacterial properties, and their synergistic effect significantly enhances the antibacterial activity of the composite nanofiber membranes against Staphylococcus aureus . The drug sustained release percentages within 24 h for PLA@T and PLA/Z@T were 15.91 % and 14.82 %, respectively. The addition of zinc oxide does not significantly affect the release efficiency of thymol. After continuous release for 288 h, these percentages increased to 73.35 % and 72.94 %, respectively. By assessing antioxidant activity through DPPH and ABTS assays, it was found that PLA/Z@T exhibited higher activity compared to the control group. Subsequently, the in vitro antibacterial performance was investigated, revealing an antibacterial rate higher than that of the control group, the antibacterial rates against Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli reached 99.75 % and 98.49 % respectively. In conclusion, the results demonstrate that PLA/Z@T nanofiber membranes possess excellent antibacterial efficiency, sustained antibacterial performance, and antioxidant properties, offering a novel strategy for antibacterial materials.
研究领域:
材料科学
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纳米技术
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生物医学工程
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药剂学
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微生物学
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Scientific Reports
·
2025
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IF 3.9
Song Lingyong,Li Weize,Hu Zhizhong,Lv Yangbo,Liu Jincang,Cheng Feng,Xu Chunping
The emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) necessitates the development of novel antimicrobial strategies. This study developed and optimized thymol-loaded nanoemulsions (TNE) as a standardized, reproducible alternative to variable essential oil formulations using central composite design. The optimal formulation comprised 4.6% oil phase, 18.5% surfactant, and 2.5:1 surfactant-to-cosurfactant ratio, yielding nanoemulsions with particle size of 25.51 ± 0.15 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.114 ± 0.008, and zeta potential of − 2.73 ± 0.12 mV. TNE demonstrated consistent antimicrobial activity with MIC values of 15 mg/mL against MRSA and other bacterial strains. Comprehensive mechanistic studies using five complementary assays revealed that TNE exerts antimicrobial effects through multiple membrane-targeting pathways, including membrane permeabilization, depolarization, hydrophobicity alteration, and rigidity modulation. The multi-target mechanism suggests reduced likelihood of resistance development compared to conventional single-target antibiotics. These findings demonstrate that systematically optimized thymol nanoemulsions represent a promising standardized platform for combating multidrug-resistant infections, offering enhanced stability, controlled release characteristics, and reduced resistance potential.
研究领域:
制药纳米技术
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抗菌研究
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药物递送系统
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微生物学
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制剂优化
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POSTHARVEST BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY
·
2017
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IF 3.248
Shiwen Dou,Qiuli Ouyang,Kuiyi You,Jingjing Qian,Nengguo Tao
Thymol is a naturally occurring volatile terpenoid in plants that possesses strong antifungal activities against many pathogens. In this research, thymol was included into β -cyclodextrin and the antifungal activity of the resulting complex against Geotrichum citri-aurantii, the causal agent of sour rot in citrus fruit, was investigated. The inhibition concentration of the β -cyclodextrin-thymol inclusion complex ( β -CTIC) to G. citri-aurantii was estimated to be 4.0 g L −1 , which was supposed to be a comparable antifungal efficiency of 0.5 g L −1 thymol alone. The structure and characteristic of β -CTIC were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and entrapment efficiency (EE). The ROESY spectrum of β -CTIC showed appreciable correlation of H-1, H-4 and H-3 protons of thymol with the H-3′, H-5′ and H-6′ protons of β -cyclodextrin, respectively. In addition, β -CTIC was found to reduce the decay of citrus fruit inoculated with G. citri-aurantii and maintain the fruit quality. Our present study suggested that β -CTIC might be used as an alternative to chemical fungicides in controlling the postharvest sour rot of citrus fruit.
研究领域:
植物学
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食品科学
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微生物学
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FLAVOUR AND FRAGRANCE JOURNAL
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2025
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IF 2
Tanfang Xu,Junfeng Liu,Ping Wang,Junfeng Zan,Ke Yang,Daizhi Tian,Maohua Chen,Yanhua Li
Thymol (THY) is a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial; however, its biological activity and application in the food and pharmaceutical fields are limited due to its low water solubility and volatility. In this study, inclusion complexes of cationic-β-cyclodextrin-THY (C-β-CD-THY) were prepared by using the aqueous stirring method. Then UV–Vis spectra, FT-IR, NMR, DSC, XRD and SEM data were collected to characterise the structure and morphology of the inclusion complexes. Phase solubility experiments showed a better solubilisation effect of C-β-CD-THY than HP-β-CD-THY. At a concentration of 0.64 mmol/L for THY, the DPPH scavenging rate was 60.99% and 61.31% for HP-β-CD-THY and C-β-CD-THY, respectively, whereas that of THY in 10% ethanol was only 43.47%. The bacteriostatic activity was verified using a circle of inhibition and the live/dead bacterial double stain. C-β-CD-THY exhibited better antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus than HP-β-CD-THY. In conclusion, the C-β-CD-THY inclusion complexes have the potential to be applied as an effective bacteriostatic agent for food and pharmaceutical applications.
研究领域:
食品科学
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药物化学
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Journal of Functional Foods
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2021
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IF 4.451
Xiang-Rong Cheng,Piao-Han Tu,Wen-Le Dong,Bu-Tao Yu,Shu-Fang Xia,Mitchell N. Muskat,Bin Guan
Xiaoheiyao , the rhizomes of Inula nervosa Wall., is a culinary spice known to contain some electrophilic Nrf2 activators that could potentially intervene in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study, the electrophilic components from Xiaoheiyao were annotated by comprehensive cheminformatics analyses on UHPLC-MS/MS data after being knocked out with glutathione (GSH)-immobilized magnetic microspheres. Their intervention effects against hepatic steatosis were investigated in free fatty acid (FFA)-treated HepG2 cells. The electrophilic components in Xiaoheiyao were found to be the major bioactive components preventing hepatic steatosis in FFA-treated HepG2 cells. In particular, 10-isobutyryloxy-8,9-epoxythymol isobutyrate (XHY-1) improved hepatic lipid metabolism disorder, Krebs cycle activity, oxidative phosphorylation, and the cellular and mitochondrial redox status. Moreover, XHY-1 activates the Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway through the up-regulation of Nrf2 expression and promotion of Nrf2 nuclear translocation. Molecular docking further showed that XHY-1 could conjugate with Cys151 in the BTB domain of Keap1 through the epoxy group. In conclusion, the electrophilic components of Xiaoheiyao , especially XHY-1, attenuated hepatic steatosis in FFA-treated HepG2 cells through activation of the Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway.
研究领域:
药理学
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细胞生物学
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分子生物学
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药物化学
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CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
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2022
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IF 10.723
Chaoyi Shen,Menglu Wu,Cui Sun,Jiangkuo Li,Di Wu,Chongde Sun,Yong He,Kunsong Chen
In this work, the solution blow spinning (SBS) technique was used to rapidly fabricate the thymol (THY)/2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) inclusion complexes loaded chitosan (CS)/polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous films for fruit preservation and packaging. XRD results indicated that the THY/HPβCD inclusion complexes were successfully incorporated into the CS/PCL nanofibers . The nanofibrous films had an increase of average diameters of nanofibers from 243.84 nm to 560.55 nm, an enhancement of water vapor permeability, a decrease of the crystallinity , and a hydrophilic surface after the incorporation. FTIR and thermal analysis showed that the thermal stability was also improved due to the formation of hydrogen bonds between THY/HPβCD inclusion complexes and CS/PCL nanofibers. The developed films obtained a long-term continuous release of THY during 240 h, and had a good antifungal activity in vitro and in vivo . The above results indicated the promising prospects of SBS in developing antifungal nanofibrous films for postharvest fruit.
研究领域:
材料科学
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食品科学
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生物技术
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Coatings
·
2023
·Vol. 13
·期 1
·86
·
IF 3.4
Liang Wang,Tianjun Ni,Shiqin Wei
In this study, thymol was covalently connected to mesoporous silica nanomaterial by a post-grafting method to obtain a stable antibacterial system, thus overcoming the volatilization of thymol, prolonging the effective time of antibacterial action, and enhancing the antibacterial efficiency of thymol. It was proposed for the first time that such a synthetic route be adopted to synthesize silica-based mesoporous/essential oil antibacterial materials. The post-grafting method could be capable of retaining the mesoporous original structure, which could effectively avoid the porosity reduction and disordered products caused by condensation. Among them, the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of functionalized MCM-41 (silica support) forE. coliandS. aureuswere 0.3 mg mL−1and 0.4 mg mL−1, which were equivalent to 3/4 and 4/5 of free thymol (0.4 mg mL−1and 0.5 mg mL−1), respectively. Meanwhile, the MBC of functionalized SBA-15 (silica support) forE. coliandS. aureuswere both 0.2 mg mL−1, which also reduced the MBC of free thymol. These results revealed thymol-functionalized mesoporous silica nanomaterial could efficiently improve the bactericidal activities of the organic component. Finally, the inhibition mechanism of the post-grafting strategy was also discussed, which referred to how the antibacterial material directly acts on the cell membrane, resulting in cell inactivation.Keywords:thymol;nano mesoporous materials;post-grafting method;antimicrobial activity
研究领域:
材料科学
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微生物学
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生物化学
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FOOD HYDROCOLLOIDS
·
2024
·
IF 11
Guangyang Jiang,Kaiwen He,Mingrui Chen,Li Yang,Yicheng Yang,Tingting Tang,Yongqiang Tian
The limited mechanical and barrier properties of chitosan (CS) have restricted its widespread adoption in food packaging. To overcome this challenge, a straightforward approach was presented to prepare multifunctional bioactive CS packaging films using novel deep eutectic solvents (DES). DESs were initially prepared from menthol (ME), octanoic acid (OA), and thymol (THY). The successful of preparation of three DESs (OA:THY, ME:THY and OA:ME:THY) was confirmed by FTIR and 1 H NMR analysis. Then, the effects of the composition and addition level (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 %) of DESs on structures, functional properties of CS films were studied. Rheological analysis, FTIR, XRD, and SEM results demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and effective intermolecular interactions between DESs and CS matrix. The thermal stability of CS-DES composite films decreased with the increase of DES. The incorporation of DES significantly enhanced the mechanical strength and hydrophobicity of films. The CS-ME:OA:THY-0.5 composite films exhibited the highest tensile strength (69.34 MPa), while the CS-ME:OA:THY-1.5 composite films showed the highest hydrophobicity (water contact angle = 107.95°). With the increase of DESs, the transmittance of films decreased especially for CS-ME:OA:THY-1.5 composite films with strong ultraviolent barrier property. Additionally, CS-DES composite films showed excellent antibacterial activity (96% of inhibition rate over 24 h), antioxidant activity, and bio-safety. Finally, the CS-ME:OA:THY composite films could effectively extend shelf life of grape by 3 days. The tested DESs represent promising plasticizers for improving the defects of CS-based films. This work paves the way for the practical application of CS-DES composite films in food related fields.
研究领域:
材料科学
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食品科学
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生物技术
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化学
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高影响因子
Food Chemistry-X
·
2024
·
IF 6.5
Yuan Zhao,Linfan Shi,Zhongyang Ren,Qun Liu,Yucang Zhang,Wuyin Weng
Oil-in-water (O/W) high internal phase (HIP) emulsion was prepared to investigate its effects on the physicochemical properties and antimicrobial properties of soy protein isolate (SPI)-based films. The particle size and migration degree of oil droplets in the SPI film-forming solution with HIP emulsion and the films were lower than those with conventional O/W emulsion or oil. The SPI-based emulsion films with HIP emulsion containing 30 % oil had the lowest water vapor permeability (1.15 × 10 −10 g·m −1 ·s −1 ·Pa −1 ), glass transition temperature (40.93 °C) and tensile strength (4.47 MPa), and the highest transparency value (12.87) and elongation at break (160.83 %). The antimicrobial test of the SPI-based emulsion films loaded with thymol showed that the thymol encapsulation efficiency, sustained release effect, and growth inhibition effect on microbes were higher for the films with HIP emulsion than those for the films with O/W emulsion or oil.
研究领域:
食品科学
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材料科学
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
·
2026
·
IF 8.7
Jie Liu,Hang Liu,Qian Wen,Lei Zhou,Ziling Li,Shengfeng Peng,Wei Liu
The rise of antimicrobial resistance has spurred interest in natural alternatives such as thymol, a potent broad-spectrum antibacterial agent. However, its clinical potential for treating enteric infections is severely limited by poor stability, low bioavailability, inherent cytotoxicity, and non-targeted release. To overcome these challenges, thymol nanoemulsion was firstly prepared and then incorporated into starch‑sodium alginate microspheres (TMS). This system was comprehensively characterized and evaluated for its antibacterial efficacy, safety, and therapeutic performance both in vitro and in a Salmonella -infected mice. Our findings demonstrate that TMS achieved high encapsulation efficiency, provided targeted sustained release in the intestinal environment (>85%), and exhibited potent antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity primarily through membrane disruption. By facilitating the sustained colonic release of thymol nanoemulsion, TMS effectively prevented local irritation while providing systemic anti-infection protection, as evidenced by the mitigation of symptoms such as weight loss, bacterial dissemination, and splenomegaly. Moreover, TMS restored gut homeostasis by preserving intestinal barrier integrity, enriching beneficial microbiota (e.g., Lactobacillus , Muribaculaceae ), and rescuing host energy metabolism via upregulation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) and the activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway. This work establishes a safe, multifunctional oral delivery platform that synchronously enhances the therapeutic efficacy and eliminates adverse effects of thymol.
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
·
2024
·Vol. 59
·期 5
·3045-3055
·
IF 2.6
Yongji Gu,Weiqing Lan,Jing Xie
Summary The study aimed to assess the in vitro antibacterial effect of thymol (Thy) in conjunction with ultrasound (US) on Shewanella putrefaciens ( S. putrefaciens ). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Thy against S. putrefaciens were 0.50 and 1.00 mg mL −1 , respectively. US was found to augment the antibacterial efficacy of Thy, resulting in a significant reduction of 2.36 log CFU mL −1 in the total colony count of S. putrefaciens , ensuring that the bacterial population maintained a consistently low growth rate. Quantitative detection of crystal violet revealed that the combined treatment exhibited a pronounced inhibitory effect on biofilm formation, with a clearance rate of mature biofilms reaching 91.60%. Alkaline phosphatase (AKPase), lactate dehydrogenase (LDHase), UV absorbing substance permeability, and other indicators were employed to measure changes in the bacterial cell membrane and internal environment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was further used to observe the bacteria morphology before and after treated by US and Thy, a notable collapse of bacterial cells was observed, accompanied by ruptured outer membranes, damaged cell walls, and extensive leakage of cellular contents. This study presents a novel approach for controlling bacterial growth in food preservation methods.
研究领域:
食品科学
·
微生物学
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危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）