Biodegradable active materials containing phenolic acids for food packaging applications.

The development of new materials for food packaging applications is necessary to reduce the excessive use of disposable plastics and their environmental impact. Biodegradable polymers represent an alternative means of mitigating the problem. To add value to biodegradable materials and to enhance food preservation, the incorporation of active compounds into the polymer matrix is an affordable strategy. Phenolic acids are plant metabolites that can be found in multiple plant extracts and exhibit antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Compared with other natural active compounds, such as essential oils, phenolic acids do not present a high sensorial impact while exhibiting similar minimal inhibitory concentrations against different bacteria. This study summarizes and discusses recent studies about the potential of both phenolic acids/plant extracts and biodegradable polymers as active food packaging materials, their properties, interactions, and the factors that could affect their antimicrobial efficiency. The molecular structure of phenolic acids greatly affects their potential antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity, as well as their specific interactions with polymer matrices and food substrates. These interactions, in turn, can lead to plasticizing or cross-linking effects. In the present study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of different biodegradable films with phenolic acids have been described, as well as the main factors affecting the active properties of these films as useful materials for active packaging development. More studies applying these active materials in real foods are required.