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An intelligent delivery system for apricot preservation: pH-responsive hollow ZIF-8 loaded with lavender essential oil and its preservation efficacy

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Lavender essential oil (LEO) has strong antibacterial and antioxidant properties, but its volatility limits practical use in fruit preservation. To address this limitation, we developed a pH-responsive delivery system (LEO@HZIF-8) using tannic acid (TA)-etched hollow ZIF-8 (HZIF-8) to enable controlled release of LEO. Mild etching generated a hollow structure that increased LEO encapsulation efficiency to 68.96%. Results indicate that LEO@HZIF-8 nanoparticles retain a well-defined crystalline structure and release LEO rapidly under acidic conditions, with a release rate of 73.36% at pH 4.5 after 72 h. Furthermore, LEO@HZIF-8 exhibited strong antioxidant activity, with DPPH and ABTS radical-scavenging rates of 85.48% and 78.24%, respectively, and significant antibacterial activity. When incorporated into a sodium alginate/zein (SA/Zein) coating, LEO@HZIF-8 extended the shelf life of white apricots to 63 days and effectively delayed decay, weight loss, and firmness loss. This study demonstrates an efficient pH-responsive delivery strategy for plant essential oils in freshness preservation and provides a basis for developing next-generation smart, eco-friendly active food packaging materials. • A TA-modified hollow ZIF-8 nanomaterial with high LEO loading (68.96%) was synthesized. • Hollow ZIF-8 serves as a carrier for achieving pH-responsive sustained release of LEO. • LEO@HZIF-8 exhibits outstanding antioxidant and antibacterial activity. • LEO@HZIF-8/Zein/SA coating effectively extends the shelf life of white apricots (63 days).

Source: Food Chemistry X

DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2026.103956