The efficacy and evaluation of chitosan-essential oil and fruit peel extracts edible films in preserving the shelf life of beef meat samples

This study used chitosan (Ch), peppermint essential oil, and fruit peel extracts (mango, orange, pomegranate) to prepare four edible films i.e. chitosan-essential oil (Ch), chitosan-mango peel extract and essential oil (Ch/MPE/EO), chitosan-orange peel extracts essential oil (Ch/OPE/EO), and chitosan-pomegranate peel extract essential oil (Ch/PPE/EO), respectively. The results indicated that pomegranate peel (PP) extract has a higher polyphenol level than mango peel (MP) and orange peel (OP) extract. The edible films were used to preserve the shelf life of beef meat at cold storage conditions (4 ℃). The compatibility of the prepared films was analyzed using parameters like film thickness, viscosity, pH, solubility, moisture content, water swelling properties, etc. Furthermore, the characterizations of prepared edible films were analyzed using zeta sizer, zeta potential, PDI, FTIR, X-ray diffraction, SEM, and antimicrobial analysis. The results showed that edible film Ch/PPE/EO has the highest thickness with a mean value of 0.42 ± 0.05 mm, the lowest transmittance of 11.58% ± 0.22, the highest water solubility (66.8%), and the highest efficacy against microorganisms. The results have shown that fruit peel extracts and essential oils effectively prevent the oxidative degradation of lipids in meat, during 16th and 20th days of storage, the control group showed maximum values (0.68 ± 0.018 and 0.85 ± 0.019 mg MDA kg-1, respectively) of TBA as compared to wrapped meat samples with Ch/OPE/EO and Ch/PPE/EO films (0.54 ± 0.017 and 0.50 ± 0.017 mg MDA kg⁻¹ respectively. In sensory evaluation, the samples wrapped with Ch/MPE/EO, Ch/OPE/EO, and Ch/PPE/EO edible films were rated at 5.5 (moderate acceptance), 5.8 (moderate like), and 7 (indicating high liking), respectively.

Graphical abstract