Antimicrobial Potential of Plastic Films Incorporated with Sage Extract on Chicken Meat

The function of packaging is crucial in the maintenance of fresh meat product quality. This study aimed to assess the efficiency of six films added with coatings 2379L/220 and 2379L/221 (containing sage extracts) to inhibit Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli, which showed that two of the six films had a significant effect. Additionally, the effects of the films on refrigerated skinless chicken breast meat were evaluated based on microbiological content, colour, weight loss, texture and pH. Four of the six films were examined could extend the storability of refrigerated chicken breast fillets for up to seven days. All six treated films improved the pH, colour stability, weight loss, and texture of the chicken fillets. Therefore, these findings suggested that the coatings containing sage extracts having different viscosities (2379L/220 and 2379L/221) were effective as antimicrobial adhesives in food packaging films and can be commercially applied in prolonging the storage of chicken breast meat without affecting their quality

Extraction of chitin from prawn shells and conversion to low molecular mass chitosan

Extraction and depolymerisation of chitin and chitosan from prawn shells was carried out using various chemical procedures. Sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid solutions were used for deproteination and demineralisation, respectively, while acetone was used for decolourisation. The amount of chitin and subsequently chitosan obtained was ∼35% and 25% respectively of the dry weight of the shells. The chitin was deacetylated using sodium hydroxide at 100 °C and the influence of the concentration of the reagent and duration of the reaction was investigated. The degree of deacetylation (DD) of the chitosan was evaluated by FTIR and NMR spectroscopy and the molecular mass distribution was determined by Gel Permeation Chromatography. It was found that the final DD was significantly higher using 50% sodium hydroxide solution (73% ± 9%) compared to 25% sodium hydroxide solution (40% ± 5%). It was noted also that the deacetylation reaction was more than 80% completed after 2 h but the chitosan produced had higher molecular mass while chitosan produced after 10 h had lower molecular mass and higher degree of deacetylation. The molecular mass distribution was bimodal for all the samples and consisted of a broad high molecular mass peak (peak 1) and a sharp low molecular mass peak (peak 2). The Mw of peak 1 decreased from ∼1.3 × 106 after 2 h reaction with sodium hydroxide to 3.1 × 105 after 10 h reaction indicating that depolymerisation and deacetylation occurred simultaneously. Peak 2 had a Mw of ∼2.4–9.9 × 103