Production of chitosan based films enriched with oregano essential oil for increased antibacterial activity
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abstract
During the last years, there has been an increasing interest in developing bio-based active
films to improve food safety, extend food shelf life and reduce the use of chemical
preservatives. Chitosan, a deacetylated derivative of chitin, is a linear polysaccharide
consisting of -(1 4) glucosamine and N-acetylglucosamine residues with potential to be
used as a food packaging/coating material. This biopolymer can be used in a wide range of
applications in the food industry due to several interesting properties such as its
biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, antimicrobial activity and versatile physical
properties such as its film-forming capacity. Recently, different strategies have been explored
to improve its natural properties for the development of food packaging/coating materials
with enhanced antimicrobial activity. In particular, the incorporation in chitosan films of
essential oils (EO) with acknowledged antibacterial properties, as an alternative of synthetic
preservatives, is a matter of great interest since they are generally perceived by consumers as
being “natural” food additives.
Thus, the objective of this work was the production of chitosan films enriched with oregano
EO to further improve the natural antimicrobial properties of chitosan. The obtained films
which were then evaluated for its antibacterial activity.
