Development and Application Of Edible Film With Bioactive Compound

Edible films were prepared from a mixture of carrageenan, guar gum and glycerol. Lemongrass essential oil (LGO) was added to edible films as bioactive compound. Edible film without essential oil and with different concentrations of essential oil (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%) were made and their mechanical and barrier properties were evaluated. Thickness ranged from 0.0472±0.003 mm to 0.0487±0.004mm. The percent elongation decreased up to 20% when the concentration of essential oil increased. The low WVTR and OTR values were maintained over a range of essential oil concentration of 0.4% and 0.6% in the edible film. The minimum WVTR and OTR obtained was 4.04±3.2 g/m²/day and 2.74±4.0cc/m²/day with the incorporation of 0.6% essential oil in edible film. SEM micrographs and DSC graphs of edible films were affected by the amount of the essential oil incorporated. The FTIR shows the structural interactions of essential oils with the carrageenan material. The developed edible films were applied on lemon fruits and were wrapped without and with different concentrations (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%) of lemongrass essential oil incorporated edible films and lemons without edible wrap also kept as a control for comparable studies. The shelf life of lemon wrapped with edible film had longer shelf-life when compared to lemon without edible wrap.