Biodegradable antibacterial plastics from porang fermented flour

Abstract

Plastic is a waste that is difficult to handle and decompose. Biodegradable plastic can be solution to overcome this problem. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of naturally fermented porang flour as a bioplastic based on the degradation process in the soil and its antibacterial properties as food packaging. The biodegradable plastics were made by mixing vinegar, food grade glycerine and porang fermented flour. The degradable test was carried out by calculating the weight of the plastic after it was buried in the ground for 14 days, the antibacterial test was carried out against bacteria, namely Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using agar diffusion with paper discs. The antibacterial ability test as a food wrapper was carried out by counting the total bacteria and total fungi after incubation of the rice wrapped in plastic for 2 and 5 days. The results showed that porang fermented flour did not have antibacterial activity. The total colony of bacteria and fungi of biodegradable plastics wrapped rice were lower than synthetic plastic. The biodegradable plastics from porang fermented flour (BPPFF) were faster degradation than synthetic plastics and D2 showed the fastest among them.