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Tram Anh Ngoc Le, Wei Ning Chen

 Published: 15 January 2024 | School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Abstract

Many tropical fruit seeds are disposed of as waste but have high values for food applications. We developed intelligent pH-sensing films containing avocado seed extract (ASE), alginate, and starch derived from jackfruit seed or durian seed and use them to monitor the freshness of shrimps during 6-day storage at 4 ℃. The water resistance and tensile strength of films were increased after being crosslinked with Calcium cation. This reaction also altered the chemical structure and enhanced the thermal resilience of the film. The addition of ASE assisted in the antibacterial properties and pH sensitivity of the film. The results indicated that the designed colorimetric film could produce different colors indicative of shrimp freshness, which were significantly connected with the degradation indices of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), and pH values of shrimp. Therefore, it holds promise as a smart packaging material for real-time monitoring of shrimp’s freshness and can contribute to the sustainability of the packaging industry.

Keywords: Intelligent packaging film; Avocado seed extract; Jackfruit seed starch; Durian seed starch; PH sensitivity; Freshness indicator

Fig 5. ASE solutions at different pH from 1 to 13 (A) and their absorbance spectra (B).

… All of composite films were stored at 4°C and 25°C for 10 days. The colors of films were recorded on day 0 and day 10 using a UV-Vis-NIR Spectrometer (StellarNet, Inc, U.S.), and the results were obtained using SpectraWiz software

… The colors of the films were measured during 6 days using a UV-Vis-NIR Spectrometer (StellarNet, Inc, U.S.), and the results were obtained using SpectraWiz software

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