engleski

Characterisation of pectin edible coatings morphology and structure using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Pectin as amorphous and colloidal carbohydrate has been intensively used in food processing industry as gelling and thickening agents, stabilizers in jams, jellies, confectioneries product and fruit juices. It is also used in medicine and pharmaceutical industry as natural prophylactic, binding agent and carrier of a variety of drugs. All these applications have put pectin in the market of the biopolymers with great potential and possibilities for future developments. In this context, proposed work offers utilisation of pectin base edible coatings in future food related applications according to the pectin film forming composition, i.e. pectin as base substances, glycerol and calcium chloride. Films were produced by solvent-casting techniques, using different mass fractions of pectin (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 %), glycerol (50 and 70 %) and calcium chloride (1 and 2 %), dissolved in distilled water or 10 % (v/v) ethanol. Thus, 24 different pectin based films were examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that there are no differences between prepared biofilms, i.e. structural and morphological characterization of 24 edible coatings revealed that various mass fractions of pectin, glycerol and calcium chloride involved in biofilms preparation did not affect theirs structural and morphological properties. Therefore, all obtained pectin base coatings could be used as excellent edible biofilms, depending on desirable applications, for instance as coatings for minimally processed fruits and vegetables.

biofilm ; edible coatings ; pectin ; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ; scanning electron microscopy

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