Functional, Physical, and Volatile Characterization of Chitosan/Starch Food Films Functionalized with Mango Leaf Extract

Abstract

Active packaging is one of the currently thriving methods to preserve highly perishable foods. Nonetheless, the integration of active substances into the formulation of the packaging may alter their properties—particularly mass transfer properties—and therefore, the active compounds acting. Different formulations of chitosan (CH), starch (ST), and their blends (CH-ST), with the addition of mango leaf extract (MLE) have been polymerized by casting to evaluate their food preservation efficiency. A CH-ST blend with 3% MLE using 7.5 mL of the filmogenic solution proved to be the most effective formulation because of its high bioactivity (ca. 80% and 74% of inhibition growth of S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, and 40% antioxidant capacity). The formulation reduced the water solubility and water vapor permeability while increasing UV protection, properties that provide a better preservation of raspberry fruit after 13 days than the control. Moreover, a novel method of Headspace-Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry to analyze the volatile profiles of the films is employed, to study the potential modification of the food in contact with the active film. These migrated compounds were shown to be closely related to both the mango extract additions and the film’s formulation themselves, showing different fingerprints depending on the film.

The Potential of Chitosan-Starch Blend Polymers as Edible Coatings for The Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables: A Mini-Review

“…Blending chitosan and starch can overcome that drawback and decrease the resulting film's water vapor permeability (WVP). As reported by previous studies, the starch in chitosan-starch film effectively improved the film's permeability to water vapor [21], [25], [28], [31]. Zheng et al, [25] reported the reduction of WVP of about 25% for chitosan film to chitosan incorporated with starch at 0.9 w/w chitosan.…”

“…Cejudo et al, [31] applied a chitosan starch film for a 13-day preservation experiment with fresh raspberries. Raspberries packed with chitosan-starch film showed less visual spoilage than unpacked berries.…”