Research Progress on the Formation Mechanism of Protein/Essential Oil-based Composite Films and Application in Food Preservation

It has great significance to maintain the natural state of food and reduce the environmental pollution that use of bio-based packaging materials to research and development food packaging, because it has been unable to meet the demand of consumers for green, environmental protection and high-efficiency, for traditional food packaging. Edible films are attracting great attentions in food packaging due to their safety and zero waste property, among which, the protein often used in the preparation of edible films because of good mechanical properties and nutritional value. Essential oils extracted from aromatic plants, the broad-spectrum antibacterial and antioxidant properties give it great potential in food packaging. Incorporation of essential oils into edible protein-based films can effectively improve their properties, and cover the strong sensory properties of essential oils, meanwhile, the release rate of essential oils is controlled. This review covers the recent developments in protein/essential oils-based composite films, the formation mechanism of protein/essential oils-based composite films is discussed, the two composite methods of single essential oil and complex essential oil with protein-based composite films is introduced. Meanwhile, the application of protein/essential oils-based composite films in food is summarized. This study can provide some reference for the future development of protein/essential oils-based composite films.