A peppermint oil emulsion stabilized by resveratrol-zein-pectin complex particles: Enhancing the chemical stability and antimicrobial activity in combination with the synergistic effect

The combination of different antimicrobial agents might produce synergistic effects and has gained increasing interest. Interfacial engineering of emulsion systems has been developed to co-encapsulate and protect bioactive components with different solubility. In this study, peppermint oil and resveratrol display synergistic effect against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram-negative bacteria Salmonella Typhimurium. Partially wettable resveratrol-loaded zein-pectin complex particles with a three-phase contact angle of ~78° were fabricated via a desolvation method. Peppermint oil emulsions with the co-inclusion of resveratrol were successfully prepared by zein-pectin complex particles, showing a high encapsulation efficiency for peppermint oil (~88%) and resveratrol (~99%). Addition of pectin decreased size distribution of the emulsions, improved antimicrobial activity, physical and chemical stability and prolonged antimicrobial efficiency against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella Typhimurium. Overall, the current study may have a valuable contribution to develop an efficient antimicrobial system based on the synergistic effect of combined agents and a single emulsion stabilized by protein-polysaccharide complex particles.