Emerging Sustainable Nanostructured Materials Facilitated by Herbal Bioactive Agents for Edible Food Packaging

Curcumin doped functionalized cellulose nanofibers based edible chitosan coating on kiwifruits

The developed edible coating with curcumin facilitated iron functionalized cellulose nanofiber (f-CNF) reinforced chitosan (CS) were applied on kiwifruits for maintaining the quality during storage life. The f-CNF was fabricated via anchoring iron particles onto the surface of CNF as evident by FESEM, FETEM, and XRD analysis. The inclusion of f-CNF and curcumin as a component of edible coating can provide a synergistic effect in maintaining the quality of kiwifruits. The f-CNF (1.5 wt%) dispersed CS edible coating assisted by curcumin provided a lamellar and heterogonous surface morphology with a hazy appearance. The used edible coating materials were effective in reducing mass loss, firmness loss, respiration rate, and microbial count of the kiwifruits during storage life (10 days at 10 °C). Additionally, color, and physiological properties of kiwifruits can be modified by using the addressed edible coating materials.

Silk nanodisc based edible chitosan nanocomposite coating for fresh produces: A candidate with superior thermal, hydrophobic, optical, mechanical and food properties

This paper demonstrates the fabrication of silk nanodisc (SND) dispersed chitosan (CS) based new edible coating as a candidate for superior thermal, hydrophobic, optical, mechanical, and physicochemical properties, which further provide remarkable storage quality for banana fruits. Fabrication of SND is attained following acid hydrolysis of silk fibroin (SF), where the successful nanostructures formulations are analyzed by FESEM, FETEM and XRD analysis delivering disc shaped morphology with amplified crystallinity (~95.0%). The SF has been fabricated from waste muga cocoons using the degumming process. The superior thermal stability of SND compared to SF portray a new era in required heat resistant packaging. The effectiveness of SND is investigated on packaging properties of CS biocomposites including thermal, wettability, mechanical, color, surface morphology, and others. Wettability of SND incorporated CS biocomposite enhanced by ~ 10° suggesting improved hydrophobicity. The edible coatings are a new candidate to improve the shelf life of bananas over 7 days at 25 °C for prevailing original weight, optical property, firmness, and others.