Water Vapor Permeability of Edible Films Based on Improved Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Native Starches

Desire Ay,Catherine Da,Georges An,Charlemagne N,Marianne S,Achille Tf

doi:10.4172/2157-7110.1000665

Abstract

Starch is used in the production of edible biodegradable packaging as an attractive alternative to synthetic polymers because it is a natural biopolymer of low cost and high availability. Many studies have been carried out on films based on cassava starch and the results show that these have good flexibility and low water vapor permeability. This present research was conducted to analyse the effect of glycerol, peanut oil and soybean lecithin on the water vapor permeability (WVP) of edible films based on improved cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) native starches from Cote d’Ivoire. The films were prepared using 4 g cassava starch, 25% and 30% glycerol (w/w), 5% and 10% peanut oil (w/w) and 0% to 5% soybean lecithin (w/w oil) in Petri dishes. The WVP of the films was determined at 25°C and 75% relative humidity. The moisture content of the films was determined in an oven at 105°C and the film thickness was determined manually using a micrometer. The resulting films were homogeneous, transparent and crack-free. WVP, moisture content and thickness of the films increased with increasing glycerol concentration. Increasing the concentrations of the peanut oil and soybean lecithin decreased the thickness and increased the moisture content of the films. The combination of glycerol and peanut oil increased the WVP of the films, whereas addition of soybean lecithin had no effect. The lowest WVP values were obtained using 25% glycerol, 5% peanut oil and 5% soybean lecithin. Starch obtained from improved cassava varieties cultivated in Cote d’Ivoire can be a potential ingredient in the production of food packaging.

Highlights

Increasing pressure from society and legislation to minimise synthetic non-degradable packaging has encouraged research directed towards the production of biodegradable alternatives prepared from natural biopolymers
Films prepared from 30% glycerol and 10% oil, with or without soybean lecithin, were very sticky and often difficult to handle
Adding 5% soybean lecithin and 5 or 10% oil to the starch slurry containing 25% glycerol, significantly increased the thickness of the resulting films made from Bocou 2 and Yavo varieties (P

Summary

Introduction

Increasing pressure from society and legislation to minimise synthetic non-degradable packaging has encouraged research directed towards the production of biodegradable alternatives prepared from natural biopolymers. The development of biodegradable films and edible materials from ecofriendly biopolymers, products and by-products of agro-materials and renewable sources is growing due to an increased environmental awareness [1,2]. The main component of these thin and flexible materials capable of forming a continuous matrix is a biopolymer [2]. The global cassava production in 2015 was estimated at 281.1 million tonnes (fresh root equivalent) with approximately 54% produced in Africa [9]. Cassava is the second major food crop after yam in Côte d’Ivoire, which produced an estimated 5.1 million tonnes of cassava in 2015 [9]

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Conclusion