This article systematically reviews recent advances in microencapsulation technologies for plant essential oils (EOs), exploring the advantages and limitations of various natural materials (such as polysaccharides, proteins, lipids) as wall materials, and their potential applications in enhancing EOs stability, controlling release, and reducing toxicity. The article provides important theoretical support and practical guidance for the development of antibiotic alternatives in animal nutrition.
Literature Overview
This article titled 'Fully Green Particles Loaded with Essential Oils as Phytobiotics: A Review on Preparation and Application in Animal Feed', published in the journal Antibiotics, reviews recent advancements in microencapsulation technologies for essential oils, including their application in animal feed, improved stability, and controlled release. It emphasizes the advantages of naturally derived wall materials while analyzing encapsulation efficiency, thermal stability, release kinetics, and economic feasibility of different materials. The content is logically structured and presented with professional coherence.
Background Knowledge
Plant essential oils (EOs) are considered potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) due to their natural antibacterial, antioxidant, and immune-modulating properties, particularly for regulating intestinal microbiota in monogastric and ruminant animals. However, EOs face limitations including volatility, photosensitivity, and degradation in gastrointestinal environments, which reduce bioavailability. Microencapsulation technology has emerged as a critical solution to overcome these challenges. Current research focuses on developing natural, biodegradable, controlled-release wall materials such as chitosan, alginate, modified starch, and proteins. These materials enhance EOs stability, enable targeted release, minimize suppression of beneficial microbiota, and achieve pathogen inhibition while maintaining gut health. This review summarizes multiple microencapsulation methods (e.g., nano-precipitation, emulsification-solvent evaporation, electrospraying, thin-film hydration) and discusses their scalability challenges, providing theoretical and practical foundations for developing sustainable encapsulation systems.
Research Methods and Experiments
This review systematically analyzes various microencapsulation techniques, including nano-precipitation, emulsification-solvent evaporation, electrospraying, thin-film hydration, ionotropic gelation, coacervation, and spray drying. These methods demonstrate distinct performance characteristics in particle size, encapsulation efficiency, thermal stability, and release kinetics. While most techniques are well-established at laboratory scales, industrial scalability remains challenging due to high energy consumption in emulsification processes and parameter sensitivity in electrospraying.
Key Conclusions and Perspectives
Research Significance and Prospects
Microencapsulation technology for plant essential oils provides innovative directions for antibiotic alternative development, particularly in monogastric and ruminant animal feed additives. Future research should focus on multifunctional microcapsule systems enabling synergistic encapsulation of EOs with other bioactive components (e.g., prebiotics, probiotics) to enhance gut health regulation. The article also advocates for standardized evaluation protocols for encapsulation and release mechanisms to facilitate industrial translation, addressing the demand for sustainable, efficient, and safe animal nutrition solutions.
Conclusion
This review, 'Fully Green Particles Loaded with Essential Oils as Phytobiotics: A Review on Preparation and Application in Animal Feed', comprehensively summarizes recent advancements in plant essential oil microencapsulation technologies. It covers encapsulation characteristics of various natural wall materials (e.g., chitosan, alginate, modified starch, proteins), particle structure, release kinetics, and applications in animal nutrition. The article underscores the critical role of microencapsulation in improving EOs stability, controlling release behavior, and minimizing toxicity. It further identifies industrial application potential through material combination strategies. The study reveals concentration-dependent effects of EOs on probiotic and pathogenic bacteria, providing scientific rationale for optimizing gut microbiota. Overall, this review offers theoretical support and practical guidance for developing efficient, safe, and sustainable plant-derived feed additives, holding significant academic and industrial value.
