植物精油在包装领域的研究应用进展

近年来，人们对在食品中使用天然抗菌剂代替化学防腐剂的兴趣日益增加。就此而言，精油这种具有挥发性且安全无害的天然植物次生代谢产物无疑将会在食品功能包装领域得到广泛的研究和应用。目前大量研究表明，加入精油后的食品包装可增强食品的抗菌和抗氧化活性、减缓酶促褐变、改变食品周围的气体环境以及水蒸气渗透等效果。本文特以此为切入点，介绍了植物精油的生物学效应，以及植物精油作为一种活性成分在当前的研究、开发和应用。因此，开发植物精油用作生物基食品包装，将精油本身与纳米乳液纳入活性或智能包装中，加入到产品或包装表面涂层、充入气调包装中、在包装内添加小袋和加入到包装膜上等，无疑可以用来改善产品品质的影响，减少食品行业的浪费。该研究还涵盖了植物精油在食品包装中的常见技术应用，如可降解的生物薄膜、微胶囊包埋、纳米乳液和静电纺丝等，以期为植物精油在包装领域的应用提供新途径。

Application of Plant Essential Oils in Packaging

Recently, using natural antibacterial agents instead of chemical preservatives in foods has garnered increasing attention. Accordingly, essential oils have been widely studied and applied in the functional packaging of food products as these liquid secondary plant metabolites are volatile, natural, and safe. Several studies have shown that, following the addition of essential oils, food packaging can enhance the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of foods and slow enzymatic browning; moreover, it alters the gaseous environment surrounding the food product and reduces water vapor penetration. This article introduces the biological mechanisms of plant essential oils and summarizes the current research, development, and applications regarding their utilization as an active ingredient. Indeed, myriad applications of essential oils have been shown to improve product quality and reduce associated waste: use in food packaging; introduction to active or intelligent packaging; addition to the surface coating of products or packaging; filling atmosphere packaging; introduction of small packaging bags to ordinary packaging; addition to packaging films. The common techniques used in plant essential oil application, including biodegradable biofilms, microcapsules, nanoemulsions, and electrospinning, are also described. The primary aim of this article was to provide a resource to inform the development of new applications of plant essential oils in the packaging field.