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Gelatin (bovine/porcine)-based edible films are considered as an excellent carrier for essential oils (EOs) to preserve food quality and extend their shelf life. Spearmint essential oil (SEO) is known for its potential antioxidant and antimicrobial effects; nevertheless, its food applications are limited due to the volatile nature of its active components. Thus, edible films loaded with essential oil can be an alternative to synthetic preservatives to improve their food applications. In the present study, the effect of SEO addition was investigated on the physicochemical properties of bovine and porcine gelatin films, and antioxidant activity was assessed. GCMS (Gas chromatography mass spectrometry) analysis revealed the presence of carvone (55%) and limonene (25.3%) as major components. The incorporation of SEO into the films decreased the opacity, moisture content, water solubility, and elongation at break of bovine and porcine gelatin films. However, with the addition of EO, the thickness and water vapor permeability of bovine and porcine-based gelatin films increased. Moreover, the addition of SEO increased the tensile strength (TS) of the porcine-based film, whereas bovine samples demonstrated a decrease in tensile strength. XRD (X-ray diffraction) findings revealed a decrease in the percentage crystallinity of both types of gelatin films. SEM (scanning electron microscope) results showed the changes in the morphology of films after the addition of SEO. Antioxidant properties significantly (p < 0.05) increased with the incorporation of EO when compared with control films. Therefore, the addition of SEO to gelatin-based edible films could be an effective approach to prepare an active food packaging material to prevent food oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, ginger essential oil (GEO) loaded chitosan (CS) based films incorporated with varying concentrations of gelatin (GE) were fabricated and dried at different conditions (25 °C and 45 °C). The physio-chemical, mechanical and antioxidant potential of the films were determined. Films dried at 45 °C showed better physical attributes and less thickness, swelling degree (SD), moisture content, water vapor permeability (WVP), more transparency, and better mechanical characteristics. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the chemical composition and interaction between the functional groups of the film components. X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) findings revealed that samples dried at 45 °C had more crystalline structure, were thermally stable, and smoother. Antioxidant results showed that films dried at low temperature showed comparatively more (p < 0.0001) antioxidant activity. Additionally, an increase in gelatin concentration improved the tensile strength and swelling factor (p < 0.05), however, had no significant impact on other parameters. The overall results suggested better characteristics of GEO-loaded CS-GE based edible films when dried at 45 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current work, we fabricated gelatin–casein-based edible films (GC-EFs) crosslinked with gallic acid (GA). We analyzed the physiochemical characteristics, crystallinity, thermal stability, and surface properties of the EFs using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the edible films possessed a semi-crystalline structure. Addition of GA enhanced the thermal stability of the edible films as well as the surface properties of the films. It was found that a higher concentration of GA (4–5% w/v) significantly improved the surface properties, observed in the surface and cross-sectional examination of SEM micrographs. EFs containing higher amounts of GA showed more compact and denser structures with smoother and more homogeneous surfaces than the control samples. In addition, swelling degree (SD), thickness, water solubility (WS), moisture content (MC), and water vapor permeability (WVP) were found to be low in EFs containing more GA concentration. Mechanical parameters revealed that the Young modulus (Ym) and tensile strength (TS) increased with a rise in GA concentration, and elongation at break (EB) reduced with a rise in GA concentration. In transparency and color analysis, it was observed that GA positively affected the transparency of the edible films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]