Muñoz-Tebar Nuria, Pérez-Álvarez José A, Fernández-López Juana, Viuda-Martos Manuel
IPOA Research Group, Agro-Food Technology Department, Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Miguel Hernández University, 03312 Orihuela, Spain.
Polymers (Basel). 2023 Jan 12;15(2):396. doi: 10.3390/polym15020396.
Chitosan is the deacetylated form of chitin regarded as one of the most abundant polymers and due to its properties, both chitosan alone or in combination with bioactive substances for the production of biodegradable films and coatings is gaining attention in terms of applications in the food industry. To enhance the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of chitosan, a vast variety of plant extracts have been incorporated to meet consumer demands for more environmentally friendly and synthetic preservative-free foods. This review provides knowledge about the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of chitosan films and coatings enriched with natural extracts as well as their applications in various food products and the effects they had on them. In a nutshell, it has been demonstrated that chitosan can act as a coating or packaging material with excellent antimicrobial and antioxidant properties in addition to its biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity. However, further research should be carried out to widen the applications of bioactive chitosan coatings to more foods and industries as well was their industrial scale-up, thus helping to minimize the use of plastic materials.
壳聚糖是几丁质的脱乙酰化形式，被认为是最丰富的聚合物之一。由于其特性，壳聚糖单独或与生物活性物质结合用于生产可生物降解的薄膜和涂层，在食品工业应用方面正受到关注。为了增强壳聚糖的抗菌和抗氧化性能，人们已加入了各种各样的植物提取物，以满足消费者对更环保、无合成防腐剂食品的需求。本综述提供了有关富含天然提取物的壳聚糖薄膜和涂层的抗氧化和抗菌性能、它们在各种食品中的应用以及对食品产生的影响等方面的知识。简而言之，已证明壳聚糖除了具有生物可降解性、生物相容性和无毒性外，还可作为具有优异抗菌和抗氧化性能的涂层或包装材料。然而，应开展进一步研究，以扩大生物活性壳聚糖涂层在更多食品和行业中的应用及其工业放大规模，从而有助于减少塑料材料的使用。
