---

The use of essential oils as the preservative agents in food industry faces the problem of interactions with food matrix components, low solubility in aqueous phase, high volatile character and sensitivity to environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to enhance thermal stability and antioxidant activity of Thyme essential Oil (TO) by encapsulation in Chitosan Nanoparticles (CS-NP). TO was encapsulated in CS-NP with an emulsion–ionic gelation crosslinking method and the construction was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis techniques. The effect of CS: TO weight ratio encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, particle size and zeta potential of TO-loaded Chitosan Nanoparticle (CS-NP-TO) were investigated. The encapsulated TO was decomposed at a higher temperature (318-325.4ºC) than free TO (170ºC) reflecting the enhanced thermal stability of TO by encapsulation. Also, when TO was encapsulated in CS-NP, antioxidant activity proved to be superior from that of free TO. The considerable antioxidant activity and thermal stability reveal that such particles have promising application for delivery of TO in medicine, food and feed.

---

Pomegranate peel is the main by-product during pomegranate processing that valuable source of bioactive compounds with health-beneficial effects. This study has comparatively assessed the effects of two extraction methods (enzymatic and acidic) on pomegranate peel by measuring their bioactivity in terms of total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity, and antidiabetic properties using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical cation decolourization assays, and the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition assays. The TPC mg gallic acid equivalents per g dry weight (GAE mg/g dw) of extracted pectin was ~ 243 and ~ 116 for enzymatic and acidic methods, respectively. The DPPH IC₅₀ of enzymatic pectin was significantly lower than that of acidic pectin (p < 0.05). The ABTS IC₅₀ of enzymatic pectin and acidic pectin was ~ 361 and ~ 945, respectively. The enzymatic pectin showed a significantly stronger α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition effect as compared to the acidic pectin. The α-amylase inhibition was stronger than α-glucosidase inhibition for all samples.
The results indicated that enzymatic extracted pectin showed antioxidant and antidiabetic potential, which could be considered as a promising candidate for functional foods in food formulation.

---

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of gelatin edible coating (4%) containing mint (Mentha spicata) essential oil (2%) on quality of chicken fillet during refrigerated storage (4^o C). Samples were separated into three groups: uncoated (control), coated with gelatin and coated with gelatin contained mint essential oil (gelatin-mint). Samples were stored at refrigerator temperature for 21 days and microbial count (total aerobic mesophilic and psychrophilic bacterial counts), chemical properties (pH, total volatile nitrogen (TVN) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA)) and sensory characteristics (appearance, muscles elasticity, odor and color) were evaluated in 3 days interval. The results of bacterial analysis showed that coating with gelatin and gelatin-mint had significant effects on delaying the increase trend of psychrophilic and mesophilic bacterial counts as compared to control. Chemically, gelatin-mint treatment showed lower TBA, TVN and pH values ​​than the other two groups during storage (P <0.001). Also, the gelatin and gelatin-mint treatments maintained sensorial factors at acceptable levels for 6 days. Based on the results of the present study, gelatin coating did not have the ability to extend the shelf life of chicken fillets, on the basis of our results, the gelatin- mint coating may be a promising technology for the control of undesirable microbial, chemical, and sensorial changes during chicken fillet storage.