Aspergillus niger is a primary microorganism responsible for spoilage in baked goods, making the inhibition of its growth and the extension of shelf-life highly significant.This study examined the antifungal mechanism of the citral-eugenol combination (CEC) against A. niger and its potential application in extending the shelf-life of bread.CEC-treated A. niger exhibited typical characteristics of early apoptosis, such as reactive oxygen species accumulation, increased intracellular Ca2+ concentration, and phosphatidylserine extravasation.Further anal. revealed that a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytoplasm were accompanied by increased metacaspase activity, suggesting that CEC induces apoptosis in a metacaspase-dependent manner.Meanwhile, gel electrophoresis and qRT-PCR showed that DNA degradation and the relative expression levels of apoptosis factors (Actin, AiF, Fis, Tat-D, Casp) were increased.In terms of application, the addition of AY-CEC microcapsules could reduce the water vapor permeability of F-AY-CEC films by 28.14 %, while increasing the tensile strength, elongation at break, elastic modulus, and water contact angle by 183.23 %, 23.87 %, 212.33 %, and 33.82 %, resp.The shelf-life experiment showed that the shelf-life of bread could be extended from the 4th day to the 10th day by the film containing CEC microcapsules.