Anthocyanins entrapped in polysaccharide-based materials for designing smart food eco-packaging

Resume: Biopolymers meet environmental concerns, but they have some limitations in terms of performance, such as thermal, moisture barrier and mechanical properties. This type of packaging materials needs more added values such as the introduction of smart molecules capable of providing information about the properties of food in packaging. Among the well-known biopolymers, xanthan appears to be promising compound for the preparation of bioactive films being recognized as non-toxic and can be consumed. Anthocyanins present antioxidant activity being able to respond to pH changes having potential applications as natural sensors in monitoring food quality and deterioration. In this context, the main goal of this project is the enrichment of reticulated xanthan based eco-packaging with anthocyanins to monitor the food quality through color variation due to pH change. Cross-linking of the xanthan, beside anthocyanin incorporation, and reinforcement by cryogelation successful defeat drawbacks like: mechanical weakness and moisture resistance. These processes increase as well the stability of the material and, more important, the structural stability of anthocyanins with their corresponding colors. So, the materials based xanthan with anthocyanins incorporated having properties like antimicrobials, oxygen scavengers, or pH sensitivity represent a novelty and could have promising applications of smart and active packaging.