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The packaging industry responding to growing consumer demands for product safety, seeks active packaging that allows controlled antioxidant release through incorporating anthocyanin, curcumin, cinnamaldehyde, and other polyphenolic compounds to enhance functional properties of the film antimicrobial interfacial interaction. The research focuses on exploring the impact of adding curcumin and anthocyanin to sugar palm starch/chitosan bionanocomposite films, specifically examining the release kinetics of these bioactive compounds. The biocomposite film with added curcumin exhibits a smoother surface compared to the anthocyanin-based film. Although the thermal stability of the CH/SPS matrix remains unaffected by the addition of anthocyanin and curcumin, the inclusion of these compounds significantly reduces the melting enthalpy of the CH/SPS matrix. Specifically, the addition of curcumin decreases it from 142.96 J/g to 23.43 J/g, and the addition of anthocyanin reduces it to 33.22 J/g. Anthocyanin release from the CH/SPS matrix into water conforms to the Kosmeye-Peppas model (R² = 0.9808, n = 0.1177), while the release kinetics of curcumin compounds adhere to the Higuchi model (R² = 0.9968). These findings provide advantageous insights that potentially have implications for a variety of applications, particularly in areas such as sustainable food packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focuses on the potential of agar from the seaweed Gracilaria fisheri to modify the properties of starch foam. The effects of different ratios of glycerol and agar on the properties of starch foams were investigated. All formulations used in this study produced easy-to-handle, smooth, single-use foam trays with no visible cracks. The addition of agar slightly affected the off-white color of the foam but red and yellow color values significantly decreased with increments of agar content. As the agar content was increased, the foam became less dense. A foam produced at a glycerol:agar ratio of 3:7 exhibited the highest values of flexural stress at maximum load (3.23 MPa), modulus (194.46 MPa) and hardness (97.50), and the highest temperature at maximum weight loss (T max) (337 °C). Therefore, starch foam modified with agar from Gracilaria fisheri showed suitable physical, mechanical and thermal properties for food packaging, and could possibly be used in the place of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carboxymethyl starch (CST) was introduced to improve gelatin films and its practical application as edible high-performance films for food packaging and cooking was also investigated. The gelatin films modified by carboxymethyl starch exhibited the transparent appearance, tensile strength, barrier properties (oxygen, water vapor and UV light), and thermal performance (TGA, thermal shrinkage and heat-sealing strength). Resulting from the effect of electrostatic interaction modes on the properties of films, electrostatic repulsion could surpass electrostatic attraction in improving the tensile strength, oxygen barrier property and thermal stability of the films probably due to extensive physical entanglement without aggregation. Analysis of FTIR, zeta potential, interfacial dilatational rheology, shear rheological properties, XRD, Raman, SEM and AFM suggested that hydrogen bonding and electrostatic repulsion contributed to the excellent performance. The packaged food could also be cooked with the prepared film for porridge; and the film slightly influenced the shear rheological properties of porridge and imposed little effect on the odors (Electronic-Nose) of porridge. Hence, the gelatin films modified by carboxymethyl starch could potentially work as the edible inner packaging or the edible quantitative packaging for food, offer convenience for consumers, reduce the packaging waste and avoid an extra burden on environment. • CST improved mechanical and barrier properties (O 2 , moisture and UV light) of films. • CST enhanced the thermal stability, thermal shrinkage and sealing strength of films. • Hydrogen bonds and electrostatic repulsion improved compact matrix and performance. • Excessive CST granules caused the weak interactions and the property deterioration. • The packaged food could cook porridge and slightly affect the rheology and odors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]