Assessment of preservative potential of Bunium persicum (Boiss) essential oil against fungal and aflatoxin contamination of stored masticatories and improvement in efficacy through encapsulation into chitosan nanomatrix

The study reports the preservative efficacy of Bunium persicum (Boiss) essential oil (BPEO) against fungal and aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) contamination of stored masticatories and boosting of its efficacy through encapsulation into chitosan. BPEO was chemically characterized through GC-MS analysis, which revealed γ-terpinene as the major compound. The BPEO at 1.2 μL/mL concentration completely inhibited the growth of toxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus (AF-LHP-PE-4) along with 15 common food borne moulds and AFB₁ secretion. The BPEO exerts its antifungal action on plasma membrane, as confirmed through ergosterol inhibition, alteration of membrane fluidity and enhancement of cellular ions and 260 and 280 nm absorbing material leakage. The antiaflatoxigenic mechanism of action of BPEO was confirmed through methylglyoxal reduction. Further, BPEO showed strong antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ = 7.36 μL/mL) as measured by DPPH· assay. During in situ investigation, BPEO completely inhibited AFB₁ production in model food (Phyllanthus emblica) system without altering the sensory properties and also exhibited high LD₅₀ value (14,584.54 μL/kg) on mice. In addition, BPEO was encapsulated into chitosan, characterized and tested for their potential to inhibit growth and AFB₁ production. The mean particle size, PDI and zeta potential of formed BPEO-loaded chitosan nanoparticle (CS-Np-BPEO) were performed to confirm successful encapsulation. The result revealed nanoencapsulated BPEO showed enhanced activity and completely inhibited the growth and AFB₁ production by AF-LHP-PE-4 at 0.8 μL/mL. Based on findings, it could be concluded that the BPEO and its encapsulated formulation can be recommended as a potential plant-based preservative against fungal and aflatoxin contamination of stored masticatories.