Active biocomposites of cassava starch: The effect of yerba mate extract and mango pulp as antioxidant additives on the properties and the stability of a packaged product

• Cassava starch films with different contents antioxidant were obtained by casting.
• Yerba mate extract and mango pulp were used as natural antioxidants.
• The active films used inhibited lipid oxidation of palm oil.
• High concentration of antioxidants results in low lipid oxidation.
• Film's mechanical, physical and barrier properties were modified.

There is an increasing interest in the utilization of renewable resources for the production of food packaging. Among the biopolymers, starches from several sources are considered promising materials for this purpose, because they are biodegradable, inexpensive and available worldwide. Antioxidant food packaging films were produced by incorporating mango pulp and yerba mate extract into a cassava starch matrix. The bio-based films were used to pack palm oil (maintained for 90 days of storage) under accelerated oxidation conditions (63% RH/30 °C) in order to simulate a storage experiment. Palm oil packaged in these films exhibited a decreased oxidative process rate, which was attributed to the yerba mate and mango pulp in a concentration-dependent fashion. The evolution of the peroxide value contents indicated that, in general, the films with high concentrations of additives improved palm oil stability. Mechanical, physical and barrier properties of the developed film indicated that the addition of these bioactive compounds modified their properties significantly (p < 0.05).

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