Development of xylan and xylan/gelatin biofilms for production of biodegradable packages

Abstract

The aim of this work was to develop and characterize biodegradable films of xylan from corn cobs with potential use as biodegradable package. The films were produced by casting the film-forming dispersions with different amounts of xylan (150mg, 300mg, and 600mg), and glycerol (5%, 10%, and 15%), with or without gelatin (1000mg). The thickness, solubility, biodegradability, opacity, and morphology of the films were evaluated. The best films were selected to be used for covering grapes ‘Italia’ stored at two conditions, room temperature (25 °C) and under refrigeration (4 °C). We evaluated the water loss and acidity. The results showed that the xylan/gelatin films present the best macroscopic aspect. Furthermore, increase in the xylan concentration decreased the solubility of the films. We demonstrated that the efficiency of the films was dependent on the xylan content in the formulation and on the period of time used for evaluation.

Keywords:
biopackage; biodegradable films; gelatin; xylan