Antiradical, Antibacterial and Oxidative Stability of Cinnamon Leaf Oil Encapsulated in β-cyclodextrin

Safety and quality of food have become a challenge for the food industry looking to replace synthetic preservatives with natural agents. In this context, cinnamon leaf essential oil (CLO) showed to be potent antioxidant and antimicrobial agent; however, its active compounds are highly reactive volatiles and grant strong odors and flavors when used as food additive. With this in mind, the objective of this study was to evaluate the antiradical and antimicrobial activity, and oxidative stability of CLO encapsulated within β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). Radical scavenging activity of encapsulated CLO measured by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and trolox equivalents antioxidant capacity (TEAC) methods showed values of 67.3 mol (Trolox equivalent) TE/g and 177.2 mol TE/g of sample, respectively. In addition, the total phenol and flavonoid contents were 48.7 mg (eugenol equivalents) EE/g of capsules and 8.6 mg CE/g of capsules, respectively. The antibacterial activity of the encapsulated oil against Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Choleraesuis, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus showed a minimum inhibitory concentration of 5.5 mg/mL for all the tested bacteria. β-CD protected the bioactive properties of the essential oil exposed to ozone, compared to the free oil. Based on these results, the encapsulation of CLO in β-CD can be considered as a viable method for stabilizing its bioactive compounds.