Background: Crosslinking is one method of starch modification that has been applied to improve the properties of starch and starch-based films. The effects of different crosslinkers on some properties of starch give an insight into the impact the crosslinking modification will have on the final behaviour of starch films. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of oxidized sucrose and citric acid crosslinking on cassava starch intended for packaging film applications. Methods: Cassava starch was crosslinked with oxidized sucrose and citric acid individually and also in combination (dual modification). The properties studied were amylose content, degree of substitution (DS), degree of crosslinking (DC), solubility, swelling power and paste clarity while FTIR, SEM, XRD and thermal analysis were also carried out. Results: The optimal concentrations of oxidized sucrose and citric acid in this study were 1% and 5% resulting in a maximum amylose content of 20.78 and 19.4 respectively while an intermediate DS (0.182- 0.401) was recorded for all crosslinked starches. The swelling power and solubility of oxidized sucrose crosslinked starch (OS-starch) was lower than that of citric acid crosslinked starch (CA-starch) in all the temperatures observed. The SEM, XRD as well as FTIR analysis highlighted changes in the crystalline structure of starch granules after the crosslinking. Thermo-gravimetric analysis indicated that the thermal stability of all starches was significantly improved by crosslinking, as residual weights of 18.74%, 19.59% and 19.68% were observed for CA-starch, OS-starch, and dual modified starch (OS-CA starch) respectively. Conclusion: Overall, the study suggests that although both crosslinkers significantly improved the physicochemical properties of cassava starch studied, oxidized sucrose had higher effect on most these properties, hence can be suggested to be better suitable when modifying starch for packaging film applications.
The optimization of production of lignin-nanofiber-filled thermoplastic starch composite film for potential application in food packaging was carried using Response Surface Methodology (RSM), through the adoption of the Box-Wilson Central Composite Design (CCD) with 1 center point. The effects of filler loading on moisture absorption (MAB), tensile strength [TS], percent elongation [PE] and Young’s modulus [YM]) of the films were investigated in order to construct the desirability indices of the composite. The quality of the fitting model was expressed by the coefficient of determination, R2 and the adjusted R2. Results showed that the nanocomposite films were best fitted by a quadratic regression model with a high coefficient of determination (?2) value. The selected film has desirability of 76.80%, close to the objective function, and contained 4.81% lignin and 5.00% nanofibre. The MAB, TS, YM and PE of the selected film were 17.80 %, 21.51 MPa, 25.76 MPa and 48.81%, respectively. The addition of lignin and nanofiber to starch composite reduced the moisture absorption tendency but increased the mechanical properties of the films due to the good filler/matrix interfacial adhesion. Conclusively, results suggested that these films would be suitable for packaging application.
Fruit and vegetables that have been harvested can be compared to live systems that are actively undergoing metabolism. As a result, a range of spoilage bacteria, as well as enzymatic and chemical processes, can cause them to deteriorate (Petruzzi et al., 2017). This may pose a significant risk to the health of consumers and accrue heavy financial losses to producers, as consumers may withdraw their support and patronage. Foodborne disease is a public health issue that encompasses a wide range of disorders, the most common of which is gastroenteritis, which may be caused by a variety of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and
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