Quality improvement of nata bioedible film using Acetobacter xylinum and kombucha symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast as starter

Abstract

The trend towards bio-edible films is being promoted to reduce the use of plastic packaging, specifically as primary packaging for food. Therefore, this study aimed to improve the quality of nata as bioedible film by using a starter during fermentation to produce microbial metabolites such as the cellulose matrix, “nata”. The fermentation of nata was carried out using coconut water as substrate, while the starter used single culture (Acetobacter xylinum) and multiculture (kombucha symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY)). The starter (15% v/v) was inoculated on the coconut water substrate which had been formulated and adjusted at pH 3-4, then incubated for 14, 18 and 22 days. Fermentation using the kombucha SCOBY for 22 days of fermentation resulted in good quality nata biofilm. The results showed that the yield of nata reached 35.44% w/v with 14.76 mm of thickness, 5 cm of diameter, 0.86 N/nm2 of elasticity, 34.02-52.01 MPa of tensile strength, and 2.3-2.6% of elongation. The functional groups profile of nata edible film was OH, CH, C=C, and aromatic rings. The results of this study showed that kombucha SCOBY has good potential as a starter for producing bioedible films