Carvacrol, citral and α-terpineol essential oil incorporated biodegradable films for functional active packaging of Pacific white shrimp

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130252

Food Chemistry

Volume 363, 30 November 2021, 130252

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130252 Get rights and content

Highlights

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Biodegradable active films with essential oils were produced by blown extrusion.
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Citral and α-terpineol acted as compatibilizer and plasticizer in PBAT/PLA films.
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Release of carvacrol and citral from films delayed quality loss in shrimp.
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Films with 6% citral gave the best melanosis inhibition (up to 3 times)
•
All essential oil in films reduced microbial growth, drip loss and shrimp head loss.

Abstract

Biodegradable poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) and poly(lactic acid) (PBAT/PLA) blend films compounded with carvacrol, citral and α-terpineol essential oils (EOs) were produced for food packaging via blown-film extrusion. PBAT/PLA interacted with citral and α-terpineol via hydrogen bonding and carbonyl groups. Microstructures and barrier properties against water vapor and oxygen were modified depending on types and concentrations (3% and 6%) of EOs. Films containing 6% citral showed outstanding smoothness due to plasticization effects and improved compatibility. Addition of EOs decreased PLA crystallinity, giving increased amorphous phase for oxygen permeation. Films containing EOs inhibited quality deterioration in Pacific white shrimp including microbial growth, lipid oxidation and textural change. Citral and carvacrol effectively stabilized protein conformation in muscle tissues, leading to delayed drip loss and retained adhesion between shrimp cephalothorax and abdomen. All EO compounded films prevented melanosis. Findings indicated high potential of EO compounded films as functional active packaging to preserve seafood qualities.

Introduction

Plastic packaging waste causes pollution and environmental problems that drive increasing consumer demands for biodegradable plastic food packaging. Global adoption of the bio-circular-green (BCG) economic model has impelled development of the food industry toward sustainability. Reducing food and packaging waste present major challenges for the food industry, requiring advanced technological improvements in food-package interaction. However, bioplastic packaging shows reduced mechanical and barrier properties compared to petroleum-based plastic packaging (Panrong, Karbowiak & Harnkarnsujarit, 2020). Therefore, enhancement of functional performance in bioplastic packaging, including shelf-life extension by antioxidant and antimicrobial release, may compensate for lower barrier properties. Incorporation of active compounds has the potential to produce functional active packaging (Arfat et al., 2018, da Silva et al., 2019, Jariyasakoolroj et al., 2020, López et al., 2007, Mohebi and Shahbazi, 2017).

Essential oils (EOs) are typically volatile natural extracts with antimicrobial and antioxidant capacities that ameliorate several chronic diseases by preventing oxidative degradation induced by highly reactive oxygen species (Ao et al., 2008, Ruberto and Baratta, 2000, Turek and Stintzing, 2013). EOs have been incorporated into packaging materials to produce active biopolymers and edible packaging (López et al., 2007, Mohebi and Shahbazi, 2017, Tohidi et al., 2017, da Silva et al., 2019). Release of functional volatile compounds from the packaging has advantages over non-volatile systems as direct contact between the food and package is not a problem. Shelf-life extension of foods due to release of EO volatile compounds including carvacrol, citral, clove and α-terpineol from the packaging has long been reported (Arfat et al., 2018, da Silva et al., 2019, Jariyasakoolroj et al., 2020). However, previous investigations mostly produced packaging via the solvent casting process. This was not used for commercial production that utilized the conventional extrusion process (Mohebi and Shahbazi, 2017, Panrong et al., 2020, Srisa and Harnkarnsujarit, 2020). Instead, the present research developed bioplastic films containing essential oil by conventional blown-film extrusion which only few literatures are available.

Poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) are major commercial bioplastic materials with the potential to produce biodegradable packaging. Blending with flexible PBAT overcomes the limitations of PLA rigidity, producing flexible plastics (Arruda et al., 2015, Kumar et al., 2010) and allowing film production via blown-extrusion. Carbonyl groups in PBAT cause partial compatibility with PLA (Weng et al., 2013). Polymer blending is an easy and efficient technique to achieve desirable film properties depending on several factors including compatibility, crystallinity, microstructures and homogeneity (Harnkarnsujarit and Li, 2017, Kumar et al., 2010). Moreover, incorporation of EOs modifies microstructures and properties of biopolymers. Srisa & Harnkarnsujarit (2020) showed that cinnamaldehyde EO increased compatibility between PBAT and PLA blends at several ratios, giving modified mechanical, barrier properties and functional performance to extend the shelf-life of bread, while Mohebi & Shahbazi (2017) indicated modified microstructure, porosity and barrier properties of gelatin films due to incorporations of Ziziphora clinopodioides EO. However, more detailed investigations on EO compounded bioplastic are required to develop bioplastic food packaging with functional properties.

Effects of EOs as carvacrol, citral and α-terpineol compounded PBAT/PLA films produced by the blown-film extrusion process were investigated for morphology, packaging properties and functional performance on quality preservation of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), which is an important economic resource with high global consumption. It was hypothesized that heat and shearing during extrusion dispersed EOs in polymer matrices depending on their molecular structures and, hence, modified the morphology and packaging properties. Moreover, release of volatiles prevented quality deterioration of packaged shrimp due to chemical, biochemical and biological reactions. The present study was investigated to provide useful scientific data to support the commercialization of active functional bioplastic food packaging.

Section snippets

Preparation of essential oil compounded films

PBAT (Ecoflex F Blend C1200, BASF, Germany) and PLA (NatureWork Ingeo 2003D, NatureWork LLC, USA) pellets were dried and mixed at a weight ratio of 60/40. Essential oils (EOs) including carvacrol (≥98%, FCC, FG grade, Sigma-Aldrich Corp., Saint Louis, MO, USA), citral (≥96%, FCC, FG grade, Sigma-Aldrich Corp., Saint Louis, MO, USA), and α-terpineol (≥96%, FCC, FG grade, Sigma-Aldrich Corp., Saint Louis, MO, USA) were physically blended with mixed pellets and compounded using a double screw

Microstructures

PBAT/PLA blend films were found to contain rough surfaces with numerous non-uniform layers (Fig. 1A) due to incompatibility between PBAT and PLA polymer chains (Kumar et al., 2010). Addition of carvacrol and α-terpineol (3% and 6%) had no effect on film surface. However, incorporation of 6% citral clearly modified surface microstructures. Numerous lines were formed, indicating polymer orientation in machine direction because of the film blowing process. Moreover, roughness decreased as seen by

Conclusions

PBAT/PLA films incorporating carvacrol, citral and α-terpineol were successfully produced by conventional blown-film extrusion, and showed active packaging functions to preserve the quality of Pacific white shrimp. The EOs acted as plasticizers that improved the melting of PLA and decreased crystallinity, which affected the mechanical properties and permeability of the films. Citral and α-terpineol chemically bonded with the polymer matrices via hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, which also modified

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Yeyen Laorenza: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Writing - original draft. Nathdanai Harnkarnsujarit: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the Program Management Unit - Competitiveness (PMUC) under the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council of Thailand. The authors gratefully acknowledge the AI graduate scholarship from the Faculty of Agro-Industry and Graduate School of Kasetsart University, Thailand.

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Carvacrol, citral and α-terpineol essential oil incorporated biodegradable films for functional active packaging of Pacific white shrimp

Highlights

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Preparation of essential oil compounded films

Microstructures

Conclusions

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Declaration of Competing Interest

Acknowledgements

Polymer Degradation and Stability

LWT-Food Science and Technology

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

Polymer Testing

Food Chemistry

Food Chemistry

Food Control

Food Chemistry

Bioresource Technology

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

LWT-Food Science and Technology

European Polymer Journal

Journal of Food Engineering

Meat Science

Food Chemistry

Food Chemistry

Food Chemistry

Polymer Testing