Preservative effect of cinnamaldehyde nanoemulsion on snakehead fish

: Pickering emulsion coatings enriched with antibacterial components is a promising approach for food preservation. In this study, a cinnamaldehyde-enriched nanoemulsion coating (Cin-O/W) was prepared and applied to the preservation of fish fillets, and its preservation effects during refrigerated storage were investigated. The results indicated that Cin-O/W exhibited high encapsulation efficiency and good homogeneity. The encapsulated Cin demonstrated a high release rate, with a cumulative release rate of (90.5 ± 1.6) % achieved within 1 h. After 10 days of storage, Cin-O/W effectively improved the texture of the fish fillets. Compared to the control group, after 8 days of refrigeration, the emulsion coating reduced TVC and TVB-N values to 5.3 log CFU/g and 14.6 mg/hg, respectively. It extended the shelf life of fish at 4 °C by approximately 3 days. High-throughput sequencing revealed that Shewanella spp. accounted for a relatively large proportion in both the emulsion and control groups. The Cin-O/W effectively inhibited the growth of spoilage Shewanella spp. at a concentration of 133.3 mg/mL, with the inhibition mechanism involving the disruption of cell membrane integrity. This study demonstrated that the Cin-O/W can effectively maintain the quality and extend the shelf life of fish fillets.