Encapsulation of thyme essential oil: a review of mechanistic insights and emerging applications

Thyme essential oil (TEO) demonstrates potent antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, making it a promising candidate for use as a natural preservative, antimicrobial agent, feed additive, pest-control agent, and wound-dressing material. However, its practical application is limited by low water solubility, high volatility, and environmental sensitivity. Encapsulation within carrier matrices, which form micro/nanoparticles, can improve TEO stability, bioavailability, controlled release, thereby preserving or improving its bioactivity. This review summarizes the antimicrobial mechanisms of TEO and the enhancement of its efficacy through encapsulation, with particular emphasis on how wall materials and encapsulation strategies regulate particle microstructure, stability, release kinetics, and antimicrobial performance. It further discusses recent applications of encapsulated TEO in food preservation, animal feed, wound dressings, and pest control, and identifies key challenges and future research priorities in safety assessment, regulatory approval, industrial scalability, antifungal mechanisms, and release kinetics. This overview provides theoretical guidance for the rational design and application of high-performance TEO micro/nanoparticles.