Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol film containing pomegranate peel extract and sodium dehydroacetate for use as food packaging

Abstract

Abstract An active polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite film incorporating pomegranate peel extract (PPE) and sodium dehydroacetate (SD) was prepared by electrospinning. The effects of the ratio of PPE to SD (1:0, 1:0.5, 1:1, 0.5:1, 0:1) in a consistent total mass fraction of ∼5% in the film forming solution were measured in terms of the physical properties, appearance, oxidation resistance, and antibacterial performance of the resulting films. When the ratio of PPE to SD was 1:1, the powder was uniformly dispersed throughout the film, and no obvious aggregation was observed via scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the addition of PPE and SD to PVA film can improve its elongation at break, but has no significant effect on its light transmission or water vapor permeability. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that the interaction between PPE, SD, and PVA is complex. The addition of PPE to the film specimens resulted in obvious antioxidant activity. The results of bacteriostatic experiments showed that the antibacterial ability of the film against E. coli and S. aureus increased with increasing PPE and SD. This study thus quantifies the benefits of incorporating PPE and SD into PVA films for potential application as active packaging films or coatings.