Abstract Bergamot essential oil (BEO) is well-known for its food preservation activity, as well as anticancer efficacy. However, the poor BEO water solubility and deriving low bioaccessibility have limited its wider applications. The incorporation in nanoemulsions of BEO and its refined fractions was investigated to enhance its dispersibility in water to promote its antimicrobial activity, tested against Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and its cytotoxicity already at low concentrations. Different nanoemulsion formulations were tested based on food-grade ingredients, which were characterized in terms of hydrodynamic diameter and polydispersity index, and physical stability. The antimicrobial activity against all the tested micro-organisms was observed to be higher for BEO in its initial composition, than the light fraction, richer in d-limonene, ß-pinene, and γ-terpinene, or the heavy fraction, richer in linalyl acetate and linalool. Remarkably, the use of BEO nanoemulsions notably enhanced the antimicrobial activity for all the tested oils. BEO exhibited also a measurable cytotoxic activity against Caco-2 cells, which was also enhanced by the use of the different nanoemulsions tested, in comparison with free oil, which discourages the direct use of BEO nanoemulsions as a food preservative. Conversely, BEO nanoemulsions might find use in therapeutic applications as anticarcinogenic agents.

中文翻译：

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佛手柑精油纳米乳剂：抗菌和细胞毒活性

摘要 佛手柑精油 (BEO) 以其食品保鲜活性和抗癌功效而闻名。然而，BEO 水溶性差和生物可及性低限制了其更广泛的应用。研究了将 BEO 及其精制级分掺入纳米乳液中以增强其在水中的分散性以促进其抗菌活性，并针对大肠杆菌、德氏乳杆菌和酿酒酵母进行了测试，并且其细胞毒性已经在低浓度下进行。基于食品级成分对不同的纳米乳液配方进行了测试，在流体动力学直径和多分散指数以及物理稳定性方面对其进行了表征。观察到 BEO 在其初始组成中对所有测试微生物的抗微生物活性更高，比轻馏分富含 d-苎烯、β-蒎烯和 γ-萜品烯，或重馏分富含乙酸芳樟酯和芳樟醇。值得注意的是，BEO 纳米乳液的使用显着增强了所有测试油的抗菌活性。BEO 还对 Caco-2 细胞表现出可测量的细胞毒活性，与游离油相比，使用不同的纳米乳液测试也增强了这种活性，这阻碍了将 BEO 纳米乳液直接用作食品防腐剂。相反，BEO 纳米乳剂可能会在治疗应用中用作抗癌剂。BEO 还对 Caco-2 细胞表现出可测量的细胞毒活性，与游离油相比，使用不同的纳米乳剂测试也增强了这种活性，这阻碍了将 BEO 纳米乳剂直接用作食品防腐剂。相反，BEO 纳米乳剂可能会在治疗应用中用作抗癌剂。BEO 还对 Caco-2 细胞表现出可测量的细胞毒活性，与游离油相比，使用不同的纳米乳剂测试也增强了这种活性，这阻碍了将 BEO 纳米乳剂直接用作食品防腐剂。相反，BEO 纳米乳剂可能会在治疗应用中用作抗癌剂。