Novel Edible Coating with Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities Based on Whey Protein Isolate Nanofibrils and Carvacrol and Its Application on Fresh-Cut Cheese

Abstract

The composition and properties of edible coatings (ECs) will significantly influence their effects of food preservation. For the first time, whey protein isolates nanofibers (WPNFs), as a novel material with high hydrophobicity and antioxidant activity, combined with carvacrol (CA) as an antimicrobial agent and glycerol (Gly) as a plasticizer, was used to prepare edible coating (WPNFs-CA/Gly) for preserving fresh-cut Cheddar cheese. The prepared WPNFs and ECs emulsions have been investigated with transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of ECs emulsions, antimicrobial activity of edible films, and the physical properties of edible films, such as micromorphology, thickness, transparency, and moisture content, have also been evaluated. The weight losses and physical characteristics of both coated and uncoated fresh-cut Cheddar cheese samples have been assessed during storage. The DPPH free radical scavenging rate of WPNFs-CA/Gly emulsion was up to 67.89% and the reducing power was 0.821, which was higher than that of WPI-CA/Gly emulsions. The antimicrobial activity of WPNFs-CA/Gly films was nearly 2.0-fold higher than that of WPNFs/Gly films for the presence of CA. The WPNFs-CA/Gly films had smooth and continuous surfaces, and the transparency reached 49.7% and the moisture content was 26.0%, which was better than that of WPI-CA/Gly films. Furthermore, Cheddar cheese with WPNFs-CA/Gly coatings has shown lower weight losses (15.23%) and better textural properties than those uncoated samples. This in-depth study has provided a valuable and noteworthy approach about the novel edible coating material.

Preparation and Characterization of Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Based Bioactive Composite Films Modified with Fungal Melanin and Carvacrol

“…It is worth noting that CMC + 0.1 M + C and CMC + 0.5 M + C samples showed significantly higher antioxidant activity than films only with melanin ( p < 0.05) with the highest activity of sample CMC + 0.5 M + C (72.70 ± 0.05%, 93.54 ± 0.03%, and 89.84 ± 0.07%, for DPPH, ABTS, and O 2 − , respectively). Those results are higher than reported for WPI/WPC/melanin [ 2 ], as well as flaxseed gum/CV films [ 36 ], but comparable with results reported for whey protein isolate nanofibrils–carvacrol films [ 54 ]. This effect might be attributed to synergistic effect of both antioxidants present in polymer matrix [ 40 , 46 ].…”

“…In fact, the preservative activity against pork lard rancidity of gelatine-based coatings modified with fungal was reported [ 55 ]. Similar effect was showed by Wang et al who applied whey protein isolate nanofibrils-based films with CV on fresh-cut cheese [ 54 ]. CV-incorporated flaxseed gum-sodium alginate films reduced formation of total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) resulted from activity of aerobic spoilage microflora [ 44 ].…”

“…In fact, it is already established that the antioxidant activity of polymerbased films is directly dependent on the content of antioxidant compounds present in composite materials [2,23,40,46]. A similar synergistic effect of CV with other antioxidants such as pomegranate peel extract [40], whey protein isolate nanofibrils [54], as well as in inclusion complexes with cinnamaldehyde [46] was reported. The hight antioxidant activity of CMC-modified films shown their potential to be used in active antioxidant packaging to prevent oxidation-sensitive food matrices, as well as to increase their shelf life.…”

Study on Biodegradable Chitosan-Whey Protein-Based Film Containing Bionanocomposite TiO2 and Zataria multiflora Essential Oil

“…e composite samples morphology is an important feature because it can ultimately determine the mechanical and physical characteristics of degradable packaging samples [21].…”

Structural characterisation of amyloid-like fibrils formed by an amyloidogenic peptide segment of β-lactoglobulin

“…It is one of the most frequently used model systems for exploring PNFs in materials applications. 30 In many ways, whey PNFs closely resemble lightweight and elastic properties of silk bers, 31 and they possess functional properties as foaming and emulsifying agents, hydrogel formation, and increasing viscosity. 32,33 Also, whey PNFs, have become a promising candidate in the eld of food research for being biocompatible nanomaterial.…”