Antioxidant and antibacterial starch-based edible films composed of eugenol/gelatin microspheres

The food safety issues caused by microorganisms are a great threat to human life and society. However, most edible packaging films are insufficient to meet antimicrobial applications. Thus, recent research has been focused on the combination of various antimicrobial agents with edible films. Herein, antioxidant and antibacterial starch-based edible films with different concentrations of eugenol/gelatin microspheres were developed. Gelatin microspheres were introduced as the carriers for eugenol to improve its compatibility in the composite films. The optimum composite films presented a compact and uniform structure with low water vapor permeability and low solubility. The tensile strength of the composite film reached 31.87 MPa with 2.14% elongation at break. The eugenol conferred edible films with effective antioxidant and antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus. The apple cubes wrapped by the prepared films can be stored at room temperature at 50% humidity for 7 days. The fabricated composite films show promising practical applications in food packaging.