Antibacterial properties of chitosan film blended with essential oil from Cinnamomum porrectum

Abstract

At present, food preservation film is widely used and most is produced from readymade petrochemical. The food preservation film usually has high tensile and tear strength, and cheap price. However, the film is normally used in a short time, and abandoned as non-biodegradable waste. This research aims to study antibacterial properties of chitosan film blended with organic essential oil from Cinnamomum porrectum for used as food preservation film. The antibacterial properties were studied using 2 types of bacteria, i.e., Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The results showed that swelling of the chitosan film decreased, when the concentration of the organic essential oil was increased. Moreover, the addition of organic essential oil from Cinnamomum porrectum resulted in better antibacterial properties of the chitosan film. Nevertheless, only chitosan solution of 2.5 % (W/V) could be fabricated in film form.