The global demand for safe and healthy food with minimal synthetic preservatives is continuously increasing. Some natural food antimicrobials with strong antimicrobial activity and low toxicity have been considered as alternatives for current commercial food preservatives. Nonetheless, these natural food antimicrobials are hardly applied directly to food products due to issues such as food flavor or bioavailability. Recent advances in microencapsulation technology have the potential to provide stable systems for these natural antibacterials, which can then be used directly in food matrices. In this review, we focus on the application of encapsulated natural antimicrobial agents, such as essential oils, plant extracts, bacteriocins, etc., as potential food preservatives to extend the shelf-life of food products. The advantages and drawbacks of the mainly used encapsulation methods, such as molecular inclusion, spray drying, coacervation, emulsification, supercritical antisolvent precipitation and liposome and alginate microbeads, are discussed. Meanwhile, the main current applications of encapsulated antimicrobials in various food products, such as meat, dairy and cereal products for controlling microbial growth, are presented.

Two novel adsorbents (LDH@GO-NH₂ and LDH@GO-SH) were successfully synthesized by grafting thiol- or amino-functionalized GO onto LDH and their adsorption capacities for heavy metal ions (Cu(II) and Cd(II)) were significantly enhanced. Characterization experiments illustrated that the thiol group (–SH) or amino group (–NH₂) was grafted onto LDH@GO-NH₂ or LDH@GO-SH. Adsorption isotherms were satisfactorily fitted by both Langmuir and Freundlich models. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cd(II) on LDH@GO-SH at 308 K was 102.77 mg/g, which was about triple that of LDH@GO-NH₂. The enhancement in adsorption capacity of LDH@GO-SH was due to the cooperative effect of LDH and GO-SH. The kinetic experimental data for LDH@GO-NH₂ and LDH@GO-SH were found to be in good agreement with the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamic parameters calculated from the temperature-dependent adsorption isotherms indicated that the adsorption was spontaneous and an endothermic process. The possible adsorption mechanisms comprising formation of precipitation, isomorphic substitution of Mg(II), and formation of complexation with amino groups or thiol groups were proposed. Desorption experiments put into evidence that LDH@GO-NH₂ and LDH@GO-SH may be promising suitable candidates for the remediation of metal ions from aqueous solutions in real work in the near future.

Excessive application of chemical preservatives has raised increasing concerns regarding food safety and human health, prompting the search for safer natural alternatives. Lavender essential oil (LEO), a plant-derived antimicrobial agent, has been considered a promising substitute for synthetic preservatives, but its high volatility and poor water solubility limit its practical application. In this study, LEO nanoemulsions were fabricated via high-pressure homogenization using sodium caseinate (SC) and tea polyphenols (TPs) as composite emulsifiers. The preparation process was optimized using a three-factor, three-level orthogonal design, and the physicochemical properties, storage stability, and antibacterial activity were systematically investigated. The optimal preparation conditions were determined as an SC/TP mass ratio of 2:1, homogenization pressure of 70 MPa, and 7 homogenization cycles. The optimized nanoemulsion exhibited a droplet size of 130–210 nm, zeta potential of −30.89 mV, and encapsulation efficiency of 98.61%, with typical shear-thinning behavior and excellent storage stability. The percentage of free LEO remained below 7.5% within 15 days, indicating high stability, and the release behavior followed a zero-order kinetic model. The prepared nanoemulsion showed significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 62.5 μg/mL for both strains. This study confirms that the SC/TP composite interface can effectively stabilize LEO nanoemulsions, providing a theoretical basis for the development of natural and efficient food preservatives.