2017 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Development of antimicrobial packaging system foreseeing enhanced storage stability of lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera)
| Project/Area Number |
15K07452
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| Research Institution | University of Tsukuba |
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Principal Investigator |
Neves Marcos 筑波大学, 生命環境系, 准教授 (10597785)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | Food Engineering |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The overall purpose of this research is to enhance the storage stability of lotus root. In order to achieve this goal, in the third year of the project, on one hand we focused on the development of antimicrobial nanoemulsions On the other hand, we also looked into the development of edible coatings of guar gum, xanthan gum and chitosan on the physical and morphological quality of fresh-cut lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera) during storage.
We have investigated the potential of different essential oils, to be used as natural preservatives. For this purpose, we formulated and characterized oil-in-water nanoemulsions encapsulating thymus essential oil. Moreover, their physical stability and antibacterial efficiency were also monitored upon storage at different conditions. Considering the low viscosity of essential oils in general, which is a critical point to attained stable emulsions loaded with such essential oils, we also investigated about the incorporation of xanthan gum or guar gum in the emulsion system, as strategy to enhance the physical stability of such essential oils loaded into nanoemulsions. The experimental results indicated that nanoencapsulated T. capitatus essential oil was able to preserve the quality and enhance the shelf life of food products.
Moreover, we have also investigated about the effect of coating fresh-cut lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera) using single layer coating, or layer-by-layer coating using guar gum, xanthan gum or chitosan, and investigated their respective effect on the storage stability of the lotus samples.
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