Electrospun wheat gluten/zein nanofibers co-loaded with ferulic acid and TiO2 as potential food active packaging

Abstract

Globally, about one-third of fruits and vegetables are wasted each year due to spoilage, with foodborne microbial contamination and ethylene attack being the main causes. Traditional petroleum-based preservation materials have poor antimicrobial effects, low ethylene scavenging rate, causing serious pollution to the environment. Therefore, we developed a green packaging material based on plant-based protein wheat gluten (WG)/zein nanofiber films (NFs) loaded with ferulic acid (FA) and TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) for antimicrobial and ethylene scavenging by electrospinning technology. The electrostatic interactions between proteins and TiO₂ NPs during electrospinning formed with core-sheath structure WG/Zein-FA-TiO₂ (WG/Zein@FT) nanofibers. The multilayered structure of the nanofibers enhanced the hydrophobicity, mechanical properties, thermal stability and antimicrobial activity of the WG/Zein@FT NFs. Furthermore, bananas accompanied by WG/Zein@FT NFs exhibited higher firmness and lower browning rates after 12 days of preservation. The above results demonstrated that WG/Zein@FT NFs prepared in this work are promising candidates for food active packaging.

Keywords: Ethylene; Food active packaging; Nanofiber films (NFs); TiO(2) nanoparticles (TiO(2) NPs); Wheat gluten (WG).