PONKAN ESSENTIAL OIL-BASED PICKERING EMULSIONS STABILIZED BY CITRUS PECTIN ON FILMS FROM BABASSU MESOCARP FLOUR

Colloidal particles based on biopolymers have been used to prepare Pickering emulsions, and attracted interest because of their greater stability. The addition of Pickering essential oil emulsions stabilized by starch colloidal particles to films or coatings for food packaging increases hydrophobicity and preserves packaged products due to their enhanced bioactive properties, including antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Babassu (Attalea speciosa) is a native Brazilian palm and its use in the production of innovative products is of socioeconomic and environmental importance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding a Pickering emulsion of ponkan essential oil (Citrus reticulata Blanco) and citrus pectin to films based on babassu mesocarp flour. The emulsion prepared with an oil phase concentration (φ) of 14% and a citrus pectin concentration of 4% at a pH of 2.0 remained stable at different temperatures. To prepare the film-forming solution (FFS), 4 g of BMF was dissolved in 196 g of distilled water followed by hydrothermal treatment in an autoclave at 121 °C for 30 min. Glycerol (30 g/100 g BMF) and the emulsion were then added. Then, 49 g of FFS was poured into an acrylic plate and dried at 35 °C for 12 hours. The dried films were stored in a desiccator at 25 °C and 53% relative humidity (RH) for 48 hours before mechanical testing. The film was orange in colour with L*, a*, and b* coordinates of 34.14 ± 0.91; 32.84 ± 0.39; and 24.63 ± 1.33, respectively. Thickness analyses yielded an average of 0.176 ± 0.016. Tensile strength at rupture (TS), elongation at break (EB), and Young’s modulus (YM) values were, respectively,0.99 MPa, 13.07% and 1.38 Mpa. The films produced in this study exhibit properties that make them potentially sustainable materials for use as food packaging. Further studies are underway.