Shelf life extension of muffins coated with cinnamon and clove oil nanoemulsions.

Clove and cinnamon based nanoemulsions (NE) were prepared with different levels of soy lecithin as a surfactant employing ultrasonication treatment. Increase in surfactant levels decreased the particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI) and zeta potential in both the NE. Cinnamon and clove based nanoemulsions were optimized at 1.5 and 2.0% SL, respectively based on their PS and PDI value. Nanoemulsions having the highest thermo stability were further selected to coat the muffin samples. NE Coated and uncoated muffins were evaluated for changes in density, moisture content, water activity, weight loss, texture, antioxidant activity, microbial activity and sensory scores during storage. NE coating significantly increased antioxidant activity of muffins by 26.89% (Cinnamon oil NE) and 37.31% (Clove oil NE). Furthermore during storage, coating of NE maintains the texture of the muffins, reduce the weight loss, density and moisture content to a greater extent in comparison to uncoated muffins. Antioxidant activity and total plate count of clove oil NE coated muffins were significantly higher than cinnamon oil NE coated muffins and while both the NE coating also effectively facilitated in extending the shelf life up to 6 days without any quality deterioration, which facilitated their use as a functional ingredient. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2021.