Influence of turmeric incorporation on physicochemical, antimicrobial and mechanical properties of the cornstarch and chitosan films

Biopolymers have gained prominence in different areas, such as food packaging for single-use and biomedical applications, automotive field and electrostatic separation systems. The present work aims the development of films by casting based on chitosan and cornstarch incorporated with turmeric. Turmeric insertion is justified by its excellent antioxidant and pharmacological properties. All formulations containing chitosan presented inhibition halo for the microorganism Staphylococcus aureus justifying its addition. Regardless of the turmeric incorporation, the blended films containing the two biopolymers presented greater adhesiveness, remaining adhered to the swine mucosa used as a model surface for a longer time. In the migration tests after immersion in PBS buffer solutions, it was observed that the higher absorbance values occurred for films containing the bioactive agent. These results suggested that innovative materials could be used in several different applications. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.