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. 2023 Mar 20;12(3):755.
doi: 10.3390/antiox12030755.

Biodegradable Active Packaging Enriched with Essential Oils for Enhancing the Shelf Life of Strawberries

Magdaléna Rusková  1 , Alena Opálková Šišková  2   3 , Katarína Mosnáčková  2 , Custódia Gago  4 , Adriana Guerreiro  5 , Mária Bučková  1 , Andrea Puškárová  1 , Domenico Pangallo  1 , Maria Dulce Antunes  4
Affiliations

Biodegradable Active Packaging Enriched with Essential Oils for Enhancing the Shelf Life of Strawberries

Magdaléna Rusková et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

The strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) is a nutrient-rich fruit with high content of health-beneficial compounds. However, strawberries are susceptible to mechanical damage and microbiological contamination which can cause changes in fruit sensory properties. These changes consequently effect on ripening and shelf life of the strawberry. In recent years, essential oils (EOs) have been famous for their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and are promising ecological alternatives to chemical antimicrobial substances. Nowadays, active packaging is one of several techniques developed for slowing down the metabolic processes of fresh fruits. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the several polymers suitable for encapsulation EOs, whereas at the same time represent non-toxic, biodegradable, and compostable polymer derived from renewable resources. Suitable packaging prolongs the shelf life of fruit, keeps the products at the highest possible nutrition level, improves quality, and attracts customer attention. In the current study, we encapsulated EOs (lemongrass and oregano) into a PLA and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) packaging film and explored their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Moreover, biochemical and quality parameters for strawberry preservation and shelf-life extension were also assessed. Our tested active packaging film with EOs was proven to be useful for postharvest quality maintenance and shelf-life extension of strawberries, with PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% lemongrass EO being slightly better than PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% oregano EO.

Keywords: Fragaria ananassa; PLA/PHB; active packaging; antimicrobial; antioxidant; essential oils; shelf life.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The application of biodegradable nanofibrous membranes (PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% EO) in active packaging of strawberries.
Figure 2
Figure 2
SEM images of the neat PLA/PHB/ATBC (a), PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% oregano EO, (b) and PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% lemongrass oil (c) fibers and matching histograms of fiber diameter distribution.
Figure 3
Figure 3
ATR-FTIR spectra of neat PLA/PHB/ATBC, oregano EO, and PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% oregano EO nanofibrous composite.
Figure 4
Figure 4
ATR-FTIR spectra of neat PLA/PHB/ATBC, lemongrass EO, and PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% lemongrass EO nanofibrous composite.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) TGA thermograms for electrospun neat PLA/PHB/ATBC and composites: PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% oregano EO and PLA/PHB/ATBC + 5% lemongrass EO. (b) Graphs of 1st derivation of TGA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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