Study of the Biological Properties of New Smart Packaging Materials for Use in Agricultural Industries

Abstract

The paper studies the biological properties of film coatings created on the basis of polysaccharides (xanthan and carboxymethylcellulose) for use in various branches of the agro-industrial complex. It was found that samples of these film coatings completely decomposed in the soil in 7 days, and did in the aquatic environment in an average of 3.5 h. The effect of these film coatings on the organism of laboratory animals (rats) was studied by adding them to animal feed (experimental group). During the experiment, no deviations in behavior were noted in the experimental group of rats; no death in both the control and experimental groups of animals occurred. The studied film coating had no negative effect on the large intestine microbiocenosis and the animals’ weight. It was shown that the number of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms in the experimental group was 3 times less than in the control one, and the number of lactic acid bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus was 3.3 times higher than in the control group. The results obtained indicate the biological safety of the use of the studied film coatings.