Curcumın-incorporated composite active films based on chitin and glucan complexes extracted from Agaricus Bisporus

2023-9-08
Kaya, Ecem
The primary objective of active packaging is to reduce food waste, energy consumption, and resource depletion by prolonging the shelf life of food products. The need for packaging materials derived from biodegradable, biocompatible, sustainable, and renewable resources is high due to their potential to help minimize harm to the environment and preserve limited natural resources. The objective of this study is to develop active packaging by the incorporation of curcumin into chitin, a biodegradable natural polymer. Chitin polymers were obtained from the cultivated mushroom, and curcumin was selected as the active ingredient based on its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Curcumin-loaded chitin glucan complex (CGC) was formed by filling β-glucan, which is covalently bound to chitin in the wall of Agaricus bisporus, with curcumin. Fabricated curcumin loaded CGC (CGC/Cu) films were characterized to evaluate their surface, optical, structural, barrier, mechanical, antioxidant, and antibacterial characteristics. The biodegradability of CGC/Cu films was assessed over a period of 14 days in a soil environment. The addition of curcumin had a notable impact on the surface morphology of the films, leading to enhanced light barrier characteristics, radical scavenging activity, and total phenolic content. The CGC/Cu films with varying concentrations of curcumin exhibited antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli. However, no antibacterial activity was seen against Staphylococcus aureus in the films. Subsequently, the microbiological quality of the fresh skinless chicken breast sample was monitored over a refrigerated storage period of 10 days. Developed CGC/Cufilm resulted in a significant extension of the shelf-life of chicken samples, increasing it by a minimum of 40% when compared to the control sample wrapped in cling films.
Citation Formats
E. Kaya, “Curcumın-incorporated composite active films based on chitin and glucan complexes extracted from Agaricus Bisporus,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2023.