Effect of cinnamaldehyde pickering emulsion on Pseudomonas fragi biofilms: Characterization, antibiofilm effects in vitro and in vivo, and a transcriptomic analysis

IF 4.8 Q2 FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Chemistry Molecular Sciences Pub Date : 2025-12-01 Epub Date: 2025-10-25 DOI:10.1016/j.fochms.2025.100317

Yanwei Zhou, Xiaosu Hu, Huaimao Tie, Qiujin Zhu, Minping Wei, Yongguang Huang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Pseudomonas fragi (P. fragi), a predominant biofilm-forming spoilage bacterium in fresh chilled meat, causes persistent contamination and poses a significant food safety concern. However, research on its biofilms remains exploratory, and effective control measures are currently lacking. This study developed an innovative biofilm-targeted preservation system by encapsulating cinnamaldehyde (CA), the most potent essential oil component against P. fragi (MIC = 0.3125 mg/mL), within a Pickering emulsion to overcome its inherent volatility and poor aqueous solubility. Molecular docking simulations revealed stable interactions among whey protein isolate (WPI), sunflower oil, and CA, guiding rational emulsion design. The optimized emulsion (oil-water ratio 6:4) exhibited excellent physical stability (particle size: 11.30 ± 1.88 μm; zeta potential: −31.6 ± 0.82 mV), oxidation stability, and sustained-release properties, along with biosafety validated by murine acute toxicity and hemolysis assays. Crucially, while maintaining identical MIC values to free CA, the CA Pickering emulsion demonstrated significantly enhanced biofilm inhibition and eradication capabilities against P. fragi. Transcriptomic analysis revealed, for the first time, that the CA emulsion induced dysregulation of 191 bacterial genes (114 downregulated, 77 upregulated), which simultaneously suppressed signaling and metabolic pathways while inducing stress adaptation responses, thereby disrupting biofilm formation and maintenance. This work establishes a novel stabilization paradigm for essential oils and provides a theoretical foundation for developing green biofilm-targeting technologies against meat spoilage bacteria, facilitating the practical applications of CA Pickering emulsions in meat preservation.

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肉桂醛酸洗乳剂对fragi假单胞菌生物膜的影响：表征，体外和体内抗生物膜作用，转录组学分析

fragi假单胞菌（P. fragi）是鲜肉中主要的形成生物膜的腐败细菌，造成持续污染，并引起重大的食品安全问题。然而，对其生物膜的研究仍处于探索性阶段，目前缺乏有效的防治措施。本研究开发了一种创新的生物膜靶向保存系统，通过将肉桂醛（CA）包封在皮克林乳液中，以克服其固有的挥发性和水溶性差。肉桂醛是抗fragi最有效的精油成分（MIC = 0.3125 mg/mL）。分子对接模拟揭示了乳清分离蛋白（WPI）、葵花籽油和CA之间稳定的相互作用，为乳剂的合理设计提供了指导。优化后的乳化液（油水比6:4）具有良好的物理稳定性（粒径：11.30±1.88 μm； zeta电位：−31.6±0.82 mV）、氧化稳定性和缓释性能，并通过小鼠急性毒性和溶血实验验证了其生物安全性。关键是，在保持与游离CA相同的MIC值的同时，CA Pickering乳剂对fragi的生物膜抑制和根除能力显著增强。转录组学分析首次揭示，CA乳剂诱导191个细菌基因（114个下调，77个上调）失调，在诱导应激适应反应的同时抑制信号通路和代谢途径，从而破坏生物膜的形成和维持。本研究建立了一种新的精油稳定模式，为开发绿色生物膜靶向技术对抗肉类腐败菌提供了理论基础，促进了CA皮克林乳剂在肉类保鲜中的实际应用。

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来源期刊

Food Chemistry Molecular Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Food Science

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

82 days

期刊介绍： Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences is one of three companion journals to the highly respected Food Chemistry. Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences is an open access journal publishing research advancing the theory and practice of molecular sciences of foods. The types of articles considered are original research articles, analytical methods, comprehensive reviews and commentaries. Topics include: Molecular sciences relating to major and minor components of food (nutrients and bioactives) and their physiological, sensory, flavour, and microbiological aspects; data must be sufficient to demonstrate relevance to foods and as consumed by humans Changes in molecular composition or structure in foods occurring or induced during growth, distribution and processing (industrial or domestic) or as a result of human metabolism Quality, safety, authenticity and traceability of foods and packaging materials Valorisation of food waste arising from processing and exploitation of by-products Molecular sciences of additives, contaminants including agro-chemicals, together with their metabolism, food fate and benefit: risk to human health Novel analytical and computational (bioinformatics) methods related to foods as consumed, nutrients and bioactives, sensory, metabolic fate, and origins of foods. Articles must be concerned with new or novel methods or novel uses and must be applied to real-world samples to demonstrate robustness. Those dealing with significant improvements to existing methods or foods and commodities from different regions, and re-use of existing data will be considered, provided authors can establish sufficient originality.