Cold atmospheric plasma-modified multifunctional nanoemulsion co-delivering curcumin and resveratrol: Construction and application in tilapia preservation.

Oxidative degradation and microbial contamination cause quality deterioration of aquatic products under refrigeration, posing a major challenge to their preservation. In this study, zein-curcumin-resveratrol-sodium alginate nanoparticles (ZCR/SA NPs) were pretreated with atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) for 1-4 min. The ACP-modified NPs were further fabricated into antioxidant nanoemulsions (NEs), and the influences of ACP pretreatment on the physicochemical properties, encapsulation efficiency, and sustained-release performance of the resultant NEs were systematically explored. The ACP treatment significantly improved the loading efficiency and controlled release of curcumin and resveratrol (P < 0.05). FT-IR and XRD analyses indicated the formation of stronger hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions within the NEs system, which improved structural stability. Among all samples, ZCR/SA-NEs-3 min exhibited the best emulsifying properties (ESI = 358.57 ± 14.60 min, EAI = 30.51 ± 1.52 m2/g) and strong antioxidant activity (DPPH: 74.7 ± 1.67%, ABTS: 76.4 ± 2.17%). Importantly, ZCR/SA-NEs-3 min could significantly delay the spoilage process of tilapia fillets during 8 days of storage. Compared with the control group, the total viable count decreased from 8.07 ± 0.04 to 5.20 ± 0.04 lg₁₀ CFU/g, the malondialdehyde content dropped from 1.57 ± 0.03 to 0.49 ± 0.01 mg MDA/kg, and the shelf life was extended from 4 days to 8 days. This study not only revealed the mechanism underlying property improvement of NEs by ACP-modified NPs, but also provided an eco-friendly and innovative strategy for efficient preservation of aquatic products.