@Article{jrm.2024.055151,
AUTHOR = {Norma E. Marcovich, Matías Federico Hernández, María Roberta Ansorena},
TITLE = {Multifunctional Films Based on Wheat Gluten and Microencapsulated Thyme Essential Oil},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {12},
YEAR = {2024},
NUMBER = {12},
PAGES = {2049--2068},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v12n12/59077},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {In this work, active and edible films for food packaging were obtained by intensive mixing and compression molding of the wheat gluten (WG) glycerol-plasticized paste. Thyme essential oil (TEO, 10 and 15 wt.%) was incorporated as the active component microencapsulated in β-cyclodextrins (β-CD) and included directly into the biopolymer matrix for comparison. It was found that films incorporating microencapsulated TEO are more soluble in water (total soluble matter (dry method) of about 33% and 36.6% <i>vs</i>. 22.4% and 18.6%, for films containing 10% and 15% TEO, respectively) but less rigid than those obtained with free oil (elastic tensile moduli of 6.9 and 3.1 <i>vs</i>. 9.9 and 6.8 MPa, for films containing 10% and 15% TEO, respectively), although the water vapor permeability of the former is lower (4.95 10<sup>−9</sup> and 6.29 10<sup>−9</sup> <i>vs</i>. 8.85 10<sup>−9</sup> and 11.13 10<sup>−9</sup> g/Pa*s*m, for films containing 10% and 15% TEO, respectively). Active films containing both free and encapsulated TEO inhibited gram (+) as well as gram (−) bacteria and exhibited enlarged antioxidant properties, with the latter presenting slightly better performance. In addition, encapsulation slowed the release rate of TEO from the films, allowing the bioactive to remain active in the film for much longer. Therefore, the present work revealed that films prepared from TEO/β-CD microcapsules included in compression-molded wheat gluten matrices showed great potential to be used as an active food packaging.},
DOI = {10.32604/jrm.2024.055151}
}