Peiman Ariaii, Hamid Tavakolipour, Masoud Rezai and Amir Hosein Elhami Rad
Biodegradable polysacharyd-based film was developed by incorporating pimpinella affinis essential oil (PAO) into methylcellulose (MC) at level of 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% v/v. The effects of MC films containing PAO on physical, mechanical and antimicrobial properties of the films were evaluated. MC films containing PAO showed significant antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative strains. Tensile strength and elongation at break were significantly (p<0.05) increased but water vapor permeability, and moisture were significantly (p<0.05) decreased with the incorporation of PAO. The contact angle water increased up to 84.40% in 1.5% PAO concentration. The color of MC films was affected by the addition of PAO; the lower transparency of the edible MC films was noticed when a greatest amount of PAO (1.5% v/v) was incorporated (p<0.05). MC film contains PAO provided the films with a rougher surface than pure edible film. The results suggest that, the films containing PAO can be used as a natural antibacterial agent and it has been useful for application in food preservation and packaging industry.
