Chitosan nanoemulsion incorporated with Carum carvi essential oil as ecofriendly alternative for mitigation of aflatoxin B1 contamination in stored herbal raw materials

Somenath Das; Akash Maurya; Vipin Kumar Singh; Anand Kumar Chaudhari; Bijendra Kumar Singh; Abhishek Kumar Dwivedy; Nawal Kishore Dubey

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132248

Chitosan nanoemulsion incorporated with Carum carvi essential oil as ecofriendly alternative for mitigation of aflatoxin B₁ contamination in stored herbal raw materials

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 May 9;270(Pt 2):132248. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132248. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Somenath Das¹, Akash Maurya², Vipin Kumar Singh³, Anand Kumar Chaudhari⁴, Bijendra Kumar Singh⁵, Abhishek Kumar Dwivedy⁶, Nawal Kishore Dubey⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany, Burdwan Raj College, Purba Bardhaman, 713104, West Bengal, India. Electronic address: sndbhu@gmail.com.
² Laboratory of Herbal Pesticides, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India; Department of Botany, Shri Murli Manohar Town Post Graduate College, Ballia 277001, Uttar Pradesh, India.
³ Department of Botany, K. S. Saket P. G. College, Ayodhya 224123, Uttar Pradesh, India.
⁴ Department of Botany, Rajkiya Mahila Snatkottar Mahavidyalaya, Ghazipur 233001, Uttar Pradesh, India.
⁵ Department of Botany, Feroze Gandhi College, Raebareli 229001, India.
⁶ Laboratory of Herbal Pesticides, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India.
⁷ Laboratory of Herbal Pesticides, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India. Electronic address: nkdubeybhu@gmail.com.

PMID: 38729502
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132248

Abstract

The present investigation entails the first report on entrapment of Carum carvi essential oil (CCEO) into chitosan polymer matrix for protection of stored herbal raw materials against fungal inhabitation and aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) production. Physico-chemical characterization of nanoencapsulated CCEO was performed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffractometry, and scanning electron microscopy. The nanoencapsulated CCEO displayed improved antifungal and AFB₁ suppressing potentiality along with controlled delivery over unencapsulated CCEO. The encapsulated CCEO nanoemulsion obstructed the ergosterol production and escalated the efflux of cellular ions, thereby suggesting plasma membrane as prime target of antifungal action in Aspergillus flavus cells. The impairment in methyglyoxal production and modeling based carvone interaction with Afl-R protein validated the antiaflatoxigenic mechanism of action. In addition, CCEO displayed augmentation in antioxidant potentiality after encapsulation into chitosan nanomatrix. Moreover, the in-situ study demonstrated the effective protection of Withania somnifera root samples (model herbal raw material) against fungal infestation and AFB₁ contamination along with prevention of lipid peroxidation. The acceptable organoleptic qualities of W. somnifera root samples and favorable safety profile in mice (animal model) strengthen the application of nanoencapsulated CCEO emulsion as nano-fungitoxicant for preservation of herbal raw materials against fungi and AFB₁ mediated biodeterioration.

Keywords: Aflatoxin B(1); Carum carvi essential oil; Fungal biodeterioration; Methylglyoxal.