Physicochemical and mechanical properties of cassava starch films containing honey and glycerol as co-plasticisers

Starch edible films are innovative, biodegradable alternatives to traditional plastic films, which can also incorporate active ingredients, providing additional functionalities. This study aimed to create various cassava starch films with different properties by using different ratios of glycerol/honey as plasticisers. Honey improved the flow of the film-forming suspensions. Water vapour permeability and moisture content of films decreased and polyphenol content increased with honey content. Films with honey were more resistant to mechanical stress (tensile strength: 9.41–20.35MPa, elastic module: 2.75–6.87MPa), but with less extensibility (elongation at break: 37.37– 23.25%). This ingredient also made the microstructure of films rougher, as observed by scanning electron microscopy and confirmed by texture image analysis. The high honey content films showed a faster and higher (80% at 100 days) degradation in vegetable compost, which promotes the potential use of this ingredient in eco-friendly food packaging applications with added health benefits.

Fil: Fernández, Nancy Lidia. Universidad Nacional del Chaco Austral. Departamento de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

Fil: Yamul, Diego Karim. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina

Fil: Navarro, Alba Sofia del Rosario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; Argentina