Preparation of α-tocopherol-chitosan nanoparticles/chitosan/montmorillonite film and the antioxidant efficiency on sliced dry-cured ham

• Published in: Food control 2019-10, Vol.104, p.132-138
• Main Authors: Yan, Wenjing, Chen, Wenbin, Muhammad, Umair, Zhang, Jianhao, Zhuang, Hong, Zhou, Guanghong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antioxidation; Chitosan; Nanoparticles; Sliced dry-cured ham; α-tocopherol
• ISSN: 0956-7135; 1873-7129
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2019.04.026

The aim of this work was to prepare a novel antioxidant film by incorporating α-tocopherol-chitosan nanoparticles (TOC-CSNPs) with chitosan/montmorillonite film (namely, TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT), and investigate the antioxidant activity of TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film on sliced dry-cured ham in a period of 120 days at 4 °C. Positively charged TOC-CSNPs with the average sizes of 214 nm were prepared using TPP-initiated ionic gelation mechanism. The amount of TOC-CSNPs was optimized based on the changes of water vapor permeability (WVP), water solubility and swelling ratio of the film. The TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film showed 46.5% radical scavenging activity after 16 days of storage, which was 23 times and 27 times higher than that of CS/MMT and CS film, respectively. The antioxidant activity of TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film was evaluated by measuring the peroxide value (POV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values of sliced dry-cured ham coated with the TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film-forming solutions. The results indicated that compared with the CS (0.42 g/100 g for POV, 0.65 mg/kg for TBARs) and CS/MMT (0.38 mg/kg for POV, 0.59 mg/kg for TBARs) films, the biceps femoris muscle of the sliced ham coated with TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film showed much lower values of POV (0.15 g/100 g) and TBARs (0.15 mg/kg) during 120 days of storage. These results provide a theoretical basis for developing efficient and long-term antioxidant approach, which is crucial for improving and enhancing the quality of food products. •α-tocopherol-chitosan nanoparticles were added into chitosan/montmorillonite film.•The prepared film showed lower water vapor permeability and water solubility.•The amended film retained stronger radical-scavenging activity after 16 days storage.•The sliced ham coated with the film showed much lower TBARs values during 120 days.•The addition of TOC-CSNPs greatly enhanced the antioxidant activity of CS/MMT film.