Characterization of Citrus pectin edible films containing transglutaminase-modified phaseolin.
The growing social and economic consequences of pollution derived from plastics are focusing attention on the need to produce novel bioprocesses for enhancing food shelf-life. As a consequence, in recent years the use of edible films for food packaging is generating a huge scientific interest. In this work we report the production of an edible hydrocolloid film made by using Citrus pectin and the protein phaseolin crosslinked by microbial transglutaminase, an enzyme able to covalently modify proteins by formation of isopeptide bonds between glutamine and lysine residues. The films were characterized and their morphology was evaluated by both atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Mechanical properties and barrier properties to CO2, O2 and water vapor have demonstrated that these films possess technological features comparable to those possessed by commercial plastics. It is worth noting that these characteristics are maintained even following storage of the films at 4°C or -20°C, suggesting that our bioplastics can be tailored to protect food at low temperature. Moreover, gastric and duodenal digestion studies conducted under the same conditions found in the human digestion system have demonstrated that transglutaminase-containing films are regularly digested encouraging an application of the proposed materials as food coatings.
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy.
C Valeria L
CV
Giosafatto
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy.
Prospero
P
Di Pierro
Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UA, UK.
Patrick
P
Gunning
Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UA, UK.
Alan
A
Mackie
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy.
Raffaele
R
Porta
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy. Electronic address: loredana.mariniello@unina.it.
Loredana
L
Mariniello
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002957:Citrus / Q000737:chemistry*; D003102:Colloids / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015925:Cryopreservation; D004063:Digestion; D018857:Food Packaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005519:Food Preservation; D005990:Glycerol / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010368:Pectins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects; D018583:Pliability; D013718:Tensile Strength; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000494:pharmacology*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003102:Colloids; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D010940:Plant Proteins; C048826:phaseolin protein, Phaseolus vulgaris; D010368:Pectins; D011503:Transglutaminases; D005990:Glycerol
AFM; Barrier properties; Digestibility; Edible films; Mechanical properties; Microbial transglutaminase