Aerogels based on corn starch as carriers for pinhão coat extract (Araucaria angustifolia) rich in phenolic compounds for active packaging.

The objective of this study was to produce renewable aerogels from native and anionic corn starches loaded with pinhão coat extract (PCE) with water absorbent capacity, antioxidant activity and controlled release of phenolic compounds in a hydrophilic food simulant media. Starch aerogels were produced with different concentrations of PCE, 5 and 10%, and evaluated for FT-IR spectra, relative crystallinity, thermal properties, water absorption capacity (WAC), density, antioxidant activity and in vitro release. Thermal stability of the compounds was improved by the incorporation of PCE. The aerogels presented high WAC of 541 to 731% and low-density values of 0.03 g.cm ^-1 . The highest inhibition of DPPH and ABTS radicals was presented to anionic starch aerogels with 10% PCE rendering 26% of inhibition of ABTS and 24% of DPPH. The maximum in vitro releases for native and anionic starch aerogels with 5% of PCE were 28.70 and 29.44%, respectively, and for aerogels with 10% of PCE they were 34.27 and 35.94%, respectively. The anionic starch aerogels had the highest amount of phenolic compounds released when compared to the native starch aerogels. The starch-based bioactive aerogels showed potential to be applied in food packaging as water absorbent and as a carrier of phenolic compounds.
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