Abstract
Nanoemulsions formulated using materials of the highest food grade are receiving significant attention in various industries, especially food-based applications. Food-grade nanoemulsions are suitable for delivering bioactive molecules and their bioavailability, encapsulation, and protection. The present study aimed to extract essential oil (EO) from clove bud and formulate food-grade nanoemulsions. Furthermore, it investigated antioxidant and antimicrobial efficacy of nanoemulsions against foodborne pathogens. The present study found that the extracted clove bud EO is enriched with polyphenols and consists of 59 bioactive compounds from various chemical groups such as alcohol, aldehyde, esters, benzenes, carboxylic acid, esters, fatty acids, and nitrogen compounds. Among the bioactive compounds, methyl eugenol was identified as a major compound. Clove bud EO nanoemulsion antioxidant and noncytotoxic results suggest that this material could help develop promising antibacterial agents for food-based applications. The formulated nanoemulsion consisting of droplets of a mean diameter of 77.7 nm exhibits significant inhibitory and bactericidal action on Gram-positive and Gram-negative food pathogens. It is still essential to conduct more studies on the effects of food spoilage and poisoning bacteria and the mechanisms of their actions.