ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF BIOACTIVE CHITOSAN FILMS

In this work the preparation of chitosan films containing different bioactive compounds (gallic acid or salicylic acid) and plasticizers (sorbitol or Tween 80) was assessed. In addition, the component composition influence on the performance of chitosan-based films over antimicrobial and antioxidant activity were researched using the Response Surface Methodology from a Doehlert two-factor model. Both films (A: chitosan/gallic acid/Tween 80 and B: chitosan/salicylic acid/sorbitol) showed a good antioxidant capacity where a higher bioactive compound content and a low plasticizer concentration led to the best performance. Furthermore, the chitosan/gallic acid/Tween 80 film evidenced antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Chitosan-based films developed from formulation A and B showed a promising performance as bacteriostatic agent, which is sufficient evidence to assess these films as successful materials for food packaging.