Trends on functional properties improvement of emerging mucilage-based films for food packaging application -A review

Abstract

Mucilage-based films offer a promising approach due to their biodegradability, renewable nature, and ability to enhance food quality protection. Mucilage are made up of hydrophilic molecules that, when combined with water to create gel solutions. They have recently drawn a lot of interest since they offer certain environmental advantages such as being safer, biocompatible and possess good chemical modification flexibility over materials made from petroleum due to this they are highly applicable in various areas, particularly in food packaging. This review focuses on the using of mucilage generated from plants to create biodegradable packaging films. Here, the application of mucilage-based films as packaging materials and strategies for extraction, synthesis, characterization of critical aspects such thermal, mechanical and functional properties were briefly explored. By understanding the effects on physio-mechanical, morphological, barrier, and functional attributes, mucilage-based films hold great potential for advancing sustainable food packaging solutions. It was suggested that mucilage-based packaging films might be cutting-edge biomaterials for preserving food feature, enhancing nutrition and safety, and prolonging product duration. An overview of the findings and possibilities was presented.