Antimicrobial films based on pectin and sodium caseinate for the release of antifungal natamycin

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of increasing sodium caseinate (CAS) of low methoxyl pectin (LMP) based‐film formulations as well as pH on the release kinetics of incorporated natamycin (45 mg/L of film‐forming suspension) and the antimicrobial activity of films against two fungal strains. The diffusion coefficient values of natamycin from composite films to imidazole‐acetate buffer (pH 7.0) were shown to depend on both protein/polysaccharide ratio and pH of formed films. Diffusion agar tests showed that films containing natamycin were more effective in inhibiting the growth of Penicillium chrysogenum than Aspergillus brasiliensis incubated at 30°C during 4 days. Also, active films were able to reduce the growth of P. chrysogenum voluntarily inoculated on a cured meat model with the highest spore count reduction obtained for composite film with CAS/LMP ratio of 1.00 prepared at pH 3.0. Practical applications Natamycin has been safely used as a natural mold inhibitor for the surface treatment of cheese, meat, and other food products due to its low solubility in water and most organic solvents. The application of natamycin in some food products can prevent the production of mycotoxins produced by molds which are known to be harmful for human health. However, the antifungal effects of natamycin can be lowered in the case of direct application in the food matrix. Thus, incorporation of natamycin in various protein/polysaccharide‐based films has been investigated as an alternative in order to reduce the disadvantages of its direct addition into food products. The controlled release of antifungal agent from the film plays an important role in the surface treatment of food.

Ultrasonic and homogenization: An overview of the preparation of an edible protein–polysaccharide complex emulsion

“…Proteins and polysaccharides are commonly found in dietary and biological systems, and their molecular interactions have resulted in a variety of chemical, physical, and functional properties. Particularly, over the past 10 years, extensive research has been conducted between these two biomacromolecules based on their molecular interaction as a method for producing biopolymer composites with a variety of structural length scales and designs, including emulsions, nanoparticles, and films or hydrogels, and plays a crucial role in food science and biomedicine with a wide range of applications (Y. Chen et al., 2020; Dickinson, 1998; Eghbal et al., 2019; Luo et al., 2015; Rodriguez et al., 2019). The innovation of the interaction at the molecular level between proteins and polysaccharides demonstrates an understanding of a variety of dynamic economic applications and has a strong biological relationship with many fundamental chemical and physical processes (Seyfried et al., 2005).…”

Recent Developments in Smart Food Packaging Focused on Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers

“…Nisin had been incorporated in PLA (Holcapkova et al, 2018), chitosan (Remedio et al, 2019), and carboxymethyl/chitosan films (Zimet et al, 2019). Natamycin and pediocin were also used as antimicrobial agents in pectin and sodium caseinate and corn starch films (Meira et al, 2017;Eghbal et al, 2019). -Enzymes.…”

Impregnation of Pectin–Sodium Caseinate Films with Lemongrass Essential Oil: Physical-Chemical, Antimicrobial, and Antioxidant Assessment

“…The characteristics of these complexes are greatly shaped by the inherent qualities and suitability of the protein/polysaccharide system being studied. 19 Several changes occur during the mixing of protein and polysaccharide solutions, which include thermodynamic compatibility, cosolubility, and depletion flocculation. 20 In the context of a growing preference for fresh or minimally processed food without synthetic preservatives but with prolonged shelf life, the development of efficient packaging technologies has become a pressing requirement.…”