Preparation of antibacterial composite film based on arginine-modified chitosan and its application in the preservation of ready-to-eat sea cucumber

An edible composite film was developed and applied for ready-to-eat sea cucumber storage to improve the product quality. The PAC film base is first prepared by mixing 0.5 % glycerin (GL) with 4 % polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and 1 % arginine-modified chitosan (Arg-CTS) in the same volume. After the addition of nano-ZnO (ZnO) and thymol (Thy) to the PAC film base, the mechanical properties and functions were tested. Compared to the PAC film, the PAC-ZnO-ThyH composite film showed a 1.34-fold increase in the DPPH scavenging rate and a 2.19-fold increase in the ABTS scavenging rate. Contrary to the PAC film, the inhibition zone diameter of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus significantly increased by 2.35 and 4.08 folds in the PAC-Zno-ThyH film, respectively. After applying the PAC-ZnO-ThyH film to store ready-to-eat sea cucumber for 10 days, there was a significant reduction in weight loss, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), and lipid oxidation levels to 1.47 and 1.26 folds to the Ctrl group. After preservation, the hardness and chewiness of ready-to-eat sea cucumber were maintained at 1079.62 ± 138.86 N and 913.73 ± 175.79 N, respectively. The novel PAC-ZnO-ThyH composite film can be used as an active food packaging for promising seafood applications.