Abstract
In this review, a historical perspective, functional and application trends of natural polymers used to the development of edible food packaging were presented and discussed. Polysaccharides and proteins, i.e., alginate; carrageenan; chitosan; starch; pea protein, were considered. These natural polymers are important materials obtained from renewable plant, algae and animal sources, as well as from agroindustrial residues. Historically, some of them have been widely used by ancient populations for food packaging until these were replaced by petroleum-based plastic materials after World War II. Nowadays, biobased materials for food packaging have attracted attention. Their use was boosted especially because of the environmental pollution caused by inappropriate disposal of plastic packaging. Biobased materials are welcome to the design of food packaging because they possess many advantages, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility and low toxicity. Depending on the formulation, certain biopolymer-based packaging may present good barrier properties, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities Thus, polysaccharides and proteins can be combined to form diverse composite films with improved mechanical and biological behaviors, making them suitable for packaging of different food products.
Highlights
Accepted: 24 December 2021Plants, algae and marine seafoods are important resources to obtain natural polymers that can be used for designing sustainable packaging
This review aims to summarize a historical perspective, technological trends and physicochemical properties of five natural materials, as alginates, carrageenan, chitosan, starch and pea protein, used to the design of edible films and coatings
Chitosan is a polysaccharide derived from chitin, which is found in crustaceans shells, in the exoskeleton of insects or produced by microorganisms [95,96]
Summary
Algae and marine seafoods are important resources to obtain natural polymers that can be used for designing sustainable packaging. Besides being environmentally friendly and emitting low greenhouse gases, natural materials can be obtained from different renewable sources, such as plants, animals, microorganisms and their residues, making them extensively available [5] This is an advantage when compared to conventional plastic polymers, since the latter are petroleumbased, a nonrenewable resource. Natural polymers have important technological and biological properties, which allow their utilization for food packaging These materials display good film-forming and gelling properties, which leads to consider them distinguishable and sustainable choices to prepare edible films and coatings. The incorporation of hydrophobic substances or blending two or more biopolymers to form composites consist of alternative approaches to overcome these technological issues [8] In this context, this review aims to summarize a historical perspective, technological trends and physicochemical properties of five natural materials, as alginates, carrageenan, chitosan, starch and pea protein, used to the design of edible films and coatings. Web of Science® and Google Scholar® , were used to search published articles within the last 10 years, some older references may appear, mainly linked to the historical point of view of food packaging and these natural polymers
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