Release of Potassium SORBATE from Pectin- Carboxymethyl Cellulose Films into Food Simulant

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetics of potassium sorbate (PS) loaded in low methoxyl pectin/carboxymethyl cellulose (PS-LMP/CMC) films into 95% ethanol. The ratio of LMP and CMC was changed from 8:2 to 0:10 by modulating the composition of the initial casting solution, and the corresponding diffusion coefficients were obtained from 0.26 × 10−12 to 2.11 × 10−12 cm2/s and showed a good linear relationship with the ratio of CMC in LMP/CMC films. The diffusivity and partition coefficient were increased with the increasing of CMC content. A decrease in temperature from 60C to 4C resulted in a reduction of diffusion coefficients from 3.11 × 10−12 to 0.93 × 10−12 cm2/s. The activation energy for the diffusion of PS in LMP/CMC (4:6) film was 16.42 kJ/mol. The release experiment at 15C showed that it is reliable to predicted release profile of PS from LMP/CMC (4:6) film according to the Fickian model. Practical Application Considered as one of the safest food preservatives, potassium sorbate (PS) is well known for its potential antimicrobial activity and widely used as preservatives in food products. As an environmental-friendly packaging material, low methoxyl pectin/carboxymethyl cellulose (LMP/CMC) antimicrobial films with PS can release antimicrobial agent onto food surface and enhance food safety, and could replace partially conventional plastics packaging material. The present study evidenced that the PS-LMP/CMC antimicrobial films control the release of PS by changing the ratio of polymer matrix. Compared to the experiments, the use of release models to evaluate the release profile of PS in antimicrobial films is economical and time saving and helpful to design packages with desired release of PS.