This study aimed to prepare anti-Staphylococcus aureus inclusion complexes (ICs) of Hinoki essential oil (HEO) with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (2-HP-β-CD). An ultrasound-assisted kneading method was applied for the complexation for the first time. The recovery yield, embedding fraction and loading capacity of the HEO/β-CD ICs were 92.5%, 78.0% and 11.9%, respectively, while the corresponding values were 80.8%, 73.7% and 12.9% for the HEO/2-HP-β-CD ICs. As well, a comparative study confirmed the efficiency of the ultrasound-assisted kneading method was higher than the traditional kneading method. The results of SEM, XRD, GC-MS and FT-IR suggested the successful formation of ICs. A significant anti-Staphylococcus aureus activity of the fabricated ICs was demonstrated using a colony counting method. Notably, when the dose in liquid culture medium was 20 g L⁻¹, inhibitory rates of 99.8% for HEO/β-CD ICs and 100% for HEO/2-HP-β-CD ICs were achieved. Furthermore, the hydrophilic property of the ICs was proved by water contact angle measurements, implying they have the potential to act as anti-Staphylococcus aureus agents for blending with hydrophilic biodegradable materials for diverse food packaging utilizations.

Protein-based films are attractive candidates for biodegradable packaging, yet their performance is often compromised by phase separation when combining components with contrasting hydrophilicity. In this study, gelatin/zein films were used as a model system to elucidate how phase separation governs multifunctional properties. FTIR, XRD, TGA, and SEM analyses confirmed heterogeneous domains arising from immiscibility, which strongly influenced mechanical, heat-sealing, barrier, and optical behaviors. Zein incorporation improved tensile strength, water resistance, and UV-blocking capacity, while it simultaneously compromised heat-sealing strength, transparency, and gas barrier uniformity. To rationalize these trade-offs, a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) framework integrating the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was applied, revealing that gelatin/zein blends performed worse overall than pure films. These findings demonstrate that phase separation can improve individual attributes without generating synergistic effects, emphasizing the importance of compatibility control and holistic evaluation in the rational design of biodegradable packaging materials.

Unhealthy lifestyles such as consuming less nutritious foods, lack of physical activity trigger accelerated aging. Aging occurs due to inflammatory processes in the body associated with increased levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a major pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in pathogenesis of various chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and autoimmune conditions. Increased levels of IL-6 are associated with systemic inflammation and poor health outcomes. In recent decades, physical exercise has received attention not only for its role in improving fitness but also as a non-pharmacological intervention to modulate the immune response. Currently, there are scarce data on effects of exercise on the IL-6 response. The underlying mechanisms are also still not clearly understood. The physiological response of exercise to IL-6 is important to know and the underlying molecular mechanisms must be clearly understood in order to understand the stages related to the effect of exercise on increasing IL-6. The objective of this study was to determine the mechanism by which physical activity lowers IL-6 levels. In this systematic review, we searched through literature databases including Science Direct, Web of Science, MEDLINE-Pubmed, and Scopus. Our inclusion criteria covered the papers published over the past five years that addressed IL-6 and physical exercise. The Web of Science, Pubmed, and Science Direct databases were used to locate a total of 126 published papers. For this systematic review, ten papers that met the inclusion criteria were selected and examined. Standard operating procedures were evaluated in this study using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Based on the results of this systematic study, it is evident that chronic exercise reduces IL-6 levels. Immediately after acute physical exercise, IL-6 levels are increased. However, there was a downward trend in IL-6 levels during chronic physical exercise. Chronic and regular exercise has been shown to reduce IL-6 levels. as a marker of inflammation. If IL-6 levels may be suppressed through exercise, inflammation will decrease, thus preventing aging which is triggered by the accumulation of inflammatory factors.