Techno-functional characterization of gelatin extracted from the smooth-hound shark skins: Impact of pretreatments and drying methods

Gelatin based preservation technologies on the quality of food: a comprehensive review

Gelatin has played a great potential in food preservation because of its low price and superior film forming characteristics. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research progress and application of gelatin preservation technologies (film, coating, antifreeze peptide, etc.), discussing their preservation mechanisms and efficiency through the viewpoints of quality and shelf life of animal and aquatic products as well as fruits and vegetables. It showed that bioactive and intelligent gelatin-based films exhibit antibacterial, antioxidant, water resistance and pH responsive properties, making them excellent for food preservation. In addition, pH responsive properties of films also intuitively reflect the freshness of food by color. Similarly, gelatin and its hydrolysate can be widely used in antifreeze peptides to reduce the mass loss of food during freezing and extend the shelf life of frozen food. However, extensive works are still required to extend their commercial application values.

Plasticizer-gelatin mixed solutions as skin protection materials with flexible-film-forming capability

To demonstrate the feasibility of plasticizer-gelatin solutions as novel skin protection materials from a physical aspect, we evaluated the rheological properties of the solutions and the mechanical properties and textures of their dried sheets and films. Three types of sugars and polyols were employed as organic plasticizers and mixed with gelatin in solutions at plasticizer/gelatin weight ratios of 0.13-1.67. The plasticizers minimally affected the viscosities and gelation temperatures of the gelatin solutions, but they remarkably softened dried gelatin sheets, except for propylene glycol. Glycerol exhibited the best plasticizing effects, but the sheets obtained using glycerol showed tacky textures. Preliminary investigations on the film-forming properties of the solutions on the human skin showed that the fructose-gelatin solution at a weight ratio of 1.0 formed a flexible thin film with a texture and mechanical properties similar to those of a commercially available polyurethane-based flexible film dressing. In terms of physical properties, we conclude that the fructose-gelatin solution has potential as a skin protection material that transforms from a solution to a film on the skin.