Cassava bagasse starch and oregano essential oil as a potential active food packaging material: A physicochemical, thermal, mechanical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial study
Juliana Criollo-Feijoó, Verónica Salas-Gomez, Fabiola Cornejo, Rafael Auras, Rómulo Salazar
Abstract
This research evaluates the use of cassava bagasse starch and oregano essential oil (OEO) in an active film. For comparison, films of cassava starch (CS) and cassava bagasse starch (BS) were prepared with OEO at 1, 2, and 3 %. Physical, thermal, mechanical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties were determined. BS films presented higher thickness, WVP, ΔE, modulus of elasticity, and maximum stress, but lower strain at break compared to CS films. Adding OEO into the films increased their thickness, moisture, solubility, WVP and strain at break. However, maximum stress, modulus of elasticity, and T dmax decreased. The CS films added with 3 % of OEO showed higher WVP (6.32 × 10 −14 kg m/m 2 .s.Pa), intermediate solubility of 39 % and low maximum stress (0.19 MPa) while the BS film with 3 % of OEO presented 5.73 × 10 −14 kg m/m 2 .s.Pa, 30 % and 0.39 MPa, respectively. The increase from 1 % to 3 % of OEO increased the total phenolic compound content and antioxidant activity of the films by 1.3-fold and 3.7-fold, respectively. The incorporation of 3 % OEO in the films inhibited the growth of S. aureus and E. coli . Therefore, BS and OEO films offer a promising solution as biodegradable active food packaging, providing a more sustainable alternative to traditional non-biodegradable plastic packaging.