JOURNAL HIGHLIGHTS BY STEVE RANGER
A new study has looked at the potential for extending the shelf-life of potato chips by packaging them in a biodegradable film incorporating ferulic acid, a natural antioxidant.
Product spoilage as a result of lipid oxidation is a major issue in foods with a high lipid content: foods such as potato chips may develop off-flavours, rancidity, and deterioration during storage. At the same time, concerns about plastic packaging waste have increased demand for biodegradable packaging options, including the use of natural biopolymer ingredients such as cellulose, pectin, lignin and sodium alginate, a biodegradable polymer derived from the cell walls of brown algae.
Incorporating ferulic acid into these films may improve their antioxidant and barrier properties, and improve the resistance of lipid-rich foods to oxidative deterioration, the researchers said in the paper, published in SCI’s Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
This study explores the development of active films incorporating ferulic acid at concentrations of 0 (F1), 2.5 (F2), and 5 g L−1 (F3) into a sodium alginate (SA; 13 g kg−1) and pectin (P; 10 g kg−1) matrix. The researchers looked at the physical, optical, mechanical, barrier, antioxidant, structural, and morphological properties of the films.
The study found that of the films, the highest antioxidant activity, tensile strength, and low water vapor permeability were found in the F3 film. The F3 film also exhibited a high water contact angle of 116.7°, indicating ferulic acid hydrophobicity and crosslinking ability, enhancing film compactness.
The researchers said the enhanced properties of the F3 film could be attributed to the incorporation of ferulic acid, which helps in intermolecular interactions within the sodium alginate-pectin matrix. ‘This led to crosslinking, which simultaneously improved the film’s mechanical, barrier, and antioxidant properties,’ they said.
The researchers also said that the incorporation of ferulic acid into the sodium alginate-pectin matrix not only improves the film’s functional properties but also makes it an effective active packaging, ‘representing a potential alternative to conventional materials’.
Further studies will focus on scaling up film production, evaluating antimicrobial activity during storage, and studying the applicability of other lipid-rich foods, the reseachers said.
Ferulic acid-impregnated sodium alginate–pectin biopolymer film for active packaging and shelf-life extension of potato chips
Shaik Sadiya, Venkata Giridhar Poosarla, Navyasri Nandavarapu, Aparna Ramadoss, Nagaveni Shivshetty
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.70672
Visit Blog
