Gelatin film incorporated with banana leaf essential oil for food preservation

Abstract

The potential of gelatin (GL) film incorporated with banana leaf essential oil (BA) as an alternative to non-biodegradable cling films was investigated. The environmental friendly GL-BA film was prepared by casting method, with incorporating 1% (v/v) of BA to GL film. Their physicochemical properties were determined by using FTIR Spectrometer, Scanning SEM, TGA, UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, Water Vapour and Oxygen Permeability Analyser, and Universal Testing Machine. The FTIR analysis revealed a new formation of absorption band in the FTIR spectrum of GL at wavenumber 1732 cm−1 after addition of BA. The roughness of GL film was increased following incorporation of BA. Application of BA increased the opacity of GL film from 0.501 to 1.32 A/mm. Moreover, the incorporation of BA significantly increased the elongation at break (with increment of 26.6%) and slightly decreased the tensile strength (with decrement of 1.8 MPa) of GL film. Results from antimicrobial study showed an improvement of antimicrobial property of GL-BA film when tested against both Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) as compared to GL film. Based on a 14-day preservation study, GL-BA film was successfully able to preserve cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) by lowering the weight loss and browning index values. Overall, results from this study highlight the feasibility of BA as a natural additive to improve the applicability of GL film for food preservation.