Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan nanofibers incorporated with 1,8-cineole/cyclodextrin inclusion complexes: Characterization, release kinetics and application in strawberry preservation

Development of food packaging systems containing essential oils (EOs) has gained increased attention recently. However, the instability of EOs restricts their application. Therefore, effective encapsulation of EOs is demanded for their protection and controlled release. In this work, 1,8-cineole, the major component in Eucalyptus globulus essential oil, was encapsulated into hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin to form an inclusion complex, which was then incorporated into polyvinyl alcohol and chitosan composite polymer to fabricate nanofibrous film via electrospinning. The film with 40% (w/w) of inclusion complexes showed enhanced barrier and mechanical properties, and the release of 1,8-cineole from the film was sustained and dominated by the non-Fick diffusion. Moreover, this film could extend the shelf life of strawberries to 6 days at 25 celcius. This work suggested dual encapsulation of EOs by cyclodextrin and electrospun nanofibers is an ideal strategy to improve the availability of EOs, and the produced film is promising for food preservation.