The preparation and antimicrobial activity of lauric arginate/hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin stabilized essential oil nanoemulsion

To improve the antimicrobial performance of cinnamon essential oil, lauric arginate was selected as a surfactant and a synergistic antimicrobial agent, and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin was used to further enhance the stability and antimicrobial activity of lauric arginate-stabilized cinnamon essential oil emulsions. The results showed that hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin reduced droplet size and increased storage stability of the cinnamon essential oil emulsions stabilized by lauric arginate. The emulsification and inclusion effect of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin increased the degree of dispersion of cinnamon essential oil and lauric arginate, and protected lauric arginate and cinnamon essential oil from environmental conditions. Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values demonstrated that the addition of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin caused the synergistic inhibitory effects between lauric arginate and cinnamon essential oil against Escherichia coli and lauric arginate-stabilized cinnamon essential oil emulsions displayed the synergistic inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus whether the hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin existed or not. This work indicated that the cinnamon essential oil nanoemulsions co-stabilized by hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and lauric arginate could be used as high effective antimicrobial agents for food preservation.