Effects of Zein Nanoparticles Loaded with Litsea cubeba Oil on the Structure and Properties of Gelatin Films

In this paper, gelatin-based blend films integrated with zein nanoparticles loaded with Litsea cubeba oil were prepared by solution casting using gelatin, zein and Litsea cubeba oil as film-forming substrates. The effects of nanoparticles incorporation on the opacity, microstructure, thermal stability, mechanical properties, hydrophobicity, antibacterial and antioxidant properties of the blend films were investigated. The results showed that there was hydrogen bonds interaction and good compatibility between nanoparticles and gelatin. With increasing nanoparticles addition, the transparency of the blend films decreased significantly, and their hydrophobicity and antioxidant property were significantly improved (P<0.05). The blend films had obvious antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and their inhibition zone diameters were (9.17~10.00) mm and (10.02~11.10) mm, respectively. When the content of nanoparticles dispersion was 30% (v/v), the cross section of the blend film was the densest, and the blend film exhibited the best thermal stability and the greatest elongation at break. This study provides valuable suggestions for the development of food active packaging materials containing Litsea cubeba oil.