Biopolymer‐based antimicrobial coatings for aquatic food products: A review

Abstract

Aquatic food products, including fish and crustaceans, are some of the most consumed foods globally and are highly prone to microbial contamination. Such products have been preserved using conventional processing techniques such as freezing, cold storage, modified atmospheric packaging (MAP), and vacuum packaging. However, these techniques have been used since decades and are not cost‐effective. Therefore, alternative sustainable strategies need to be explored. One viable option is the application of biopolymer‐based films and coatings loaded with active antimicrobial agents (peptides and essential oil components) for the preservation of aquatic food products. Nisin is the most widely used peptide for the development of antimicrobial coatings, while eugenol, carvacrol, and cinnamaldehyde are among the most popular essential oil compounds. Findings reveal that both peptides and essential oils, when applied in combination within a coating system, demonstrate robust antimicrobial activity, delayed lipid oxidation, and retain the overall quality of the aquatic food system. Novelty impact statement Antimicrobial‐based coating systems have recently gained worldwide attention due to their ability to delay food contamination and maintain product quality throughout the storage period. This review provides a comprehensive description of peptide and essential oil‐loaded coating systems and their application in the shelf‐life extension of aquatic food products. In addition, the application of nanocomposite systems for the preservation of aquatic foods has been discussed.

Recent advances in the effects of protein oxidation on aquatic products quality: mechanism and regulation

“…Shi et al (2019) found that dodo ice coating significantly reduced fat and protein oxidation in frozen shrimp and that the addition of rosemary extract to the ice coating solution was more effective. Biodegradable packaging materials and antimicrobial agent-based coating systems are also attracting attention for their ability to retain the integrity quality of aquatic products (Chakraborty et al, 2022;Rathod et al, 2023). Liu et al (2021b) investigated the effect of bioactive coatings combined with gas-regulated packaging on the oxidation and degradation of myogenic fibrin in cultured pufferfish and found that the treated coatings inhibited the development of carbonyl groups and maintained a high-sulfhydryl content during refrigeration, indicating a certain degree of delay in myogenic fibrin oxidation.…”

“…Protein oxidation is a covalent modification process in which ROSs or secondary oxidation products act on proteins to induce structural changes, including the breaking of the protein-peptide chain backbone, crosslinking or polymerisation within and between protein molecules and modification of amino acid side chains (Dom ınguez et al, 2022). Reactive intermediates are essential for protein oxidation processes and ROSs and reactive nitrogen species (RNSs) are two common and highly sensitive reactive intermediates that can be generated in organisms through various metabolic pathways.…”

“…The causes of changes in WHC due to protein oxidation can be considered as follows: first, protein oxidation causes cross-linking between myofibrillar proteins through disulphide bonds, which results in smaller myofibrillar gaps and thus a decrease in WHC and second, more negatively charged myofibrillar proteins cause larger myofibrillar gaps due to electrostatic repulsion, thus increasing WHC (Bao et al, 2018;Dom ınguez et al, 2022).…”

“…The processing of surimi products essentially involves thermal denaturation, aggregation and gelation of fish myofibrillar proteins, which shows the importance of the gelation properties of myofibrillar proteins for the quality of surimi. Moderate oxidation enhances protein gel formation mainly because cross-linked bonds formation between proteins and peptides promotes gel mesh formation (Dom ınguez et al, 2022). Zhou et al (2014) indicated that the formation of protein disulphide bonds due to oxidation may help strengthen the gel network structure during heating; however, excessive oxidation impairs protein gelation ability.…”

Effect of High-Pressure Processing on the Packaging Properties of Biopolymer-Based Films: A Review

“…Only 9% of all the plastics get recycled and the rest ends in the land fields and water bodies. This high production of plastics is not only a serious threat to individuals, or communities but to the whole ecosystem, especially the marine ecosystem [ 18 , 20 ].…”