Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #202374
Title: Effects of Plant Essential Oils and Oil Compounds on Mechanical, Barrier and Antimicrobial Properties of Alginate-Apple Puree Edible Films

Author
item ROJAS-GRAU, MARIA - UNIV. OF LLEIDA, SPAIN
item Olsen, Carl
item Avena-Bustillos, Roberto
item Friedman, Mendel
item Henika, Philip
item MARTIN-BELLOSO, OLGA - UNIV. OF LLEIDA, SPAIN
item Pan, Zhongli
item McHugh, Tara

Submitted to: Journal of Food Engineering
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/12/2007
Publication Date: 3/10/2007
Citation: Rojas-Grau, M.A., Olsen, C.W., Avena Bustillos, R.D., Friedman, M., Henika, P.R., Martin-Belloso, O., Pan, Z., Mc Hugh, T.H. 2007. Effects of Plant Essential Oils and Oil Compounds on Mechanical, Barrier and Antimicrobial Properties of Alginate-Apple Puree Edible Films. Journal of Food Engineering. 81(3):634-641.

Interpretive Summary: A complete analysis of both antimicrobial and physicochemical properties is important for predicting the behavior of antimicrobial edible films in food systems. Mechanical, barrier and antimicrobial properties against the foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 of alginate-apple puree edible film with essential oils and oil compounds were evaluated. Results indicated that the antimicrobial activities were in the following order: carvacrol > oregano oil > citral > lemongrass oil > cinnamaldehyde > cinnamon oil. Our studies show that plant-derived essential oils and their constituents can be used to prepare apple-based antimicrobial edible films for food applications.

Technical Abstract: We evaluated mechanical, barrier and antimicrobial properties of 0.1-0.5% suspensions of the following essential oils (EOs)/oil compounds (OCs) against the foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 in alginate-apple puree edible film (AAPEF): oregano oil/carvacrol; cinnamon oil/cinnamaldehyde; and lemongrass oil/citral. The presence of plant antimicrobials did not significantly affect water vapor and oxygen permeabilities of the films, but did significantly modify tensile properties. Antimicrobial activities of solutions used to prepare edible films (AAPFFS) were also determined. The results obtained demonstrate that carvacrol exhibited the strongest antimicrobial activity against E. coli O157:H7. The data show that the antimicrobial activities were in the following order: carvacrol > oregano oil > citral > lemongrass oil > cinnamaldehyde > cinnamon oil. These studies show that plant-derived essential oils and their constituents can be used to prepare apple-based antimicrobial edible films for food applications.