Journal of Medicinal Plants (May 2012)
Development and Evaluation of Antioxidant Chitosan Film Incorporated with Grape Seed Extract
Abstract
Background: The application of antioxidant films is a promising strategy for controlling chemical spoilage of food. Objectives: Antioxidant chitosan films incorporated with grape seed extract (GSE) were developed with the objectives of investigation of their characteristics. Methods: Chitosan film was developed by casting method and the effect of different concentrations of GSE (0, 0.5, 1 and 2%) on mechanical, color (accordance with hunter system [L* (luminosity), α* (redness), and b* (yellowness)], antioxidant characteristics, total phenol (TP), and swelling index (%SI) of films were evaluated. Results: Generally, the tensile strength of GSE formulated films was influenced by the concentrations of GSE. The 2% GSE/ chitosan films revealed tensile strength similar to unsupplemented film. Concerning color of chitosan film, results indicated that by incorporating GSE, significant changes on L*, α*, b* values were appeared (p0.05). The antioxidant activity of GSE formulated films was considerable due to the high source of phenolics. This activity was affected by GSE concentrations, which were significant for film containing 0.5% (37.85%) 1% (39.16%) and 2% (41.57%) GSE in comparison with control (12.34%) (p 0.05). The results also revealed that by increasing the amount of GSE, the TP and %SI were significantly increased. Conclusion: The results indicated that all characteristics of films were influenced by the extent of GSE. Improvement in antioxidant and total phenol of GSE assimilated films is appreciated. Such films are suitable for handle in preserving food.