Cassava starch composite films incorporated with cinnamon essential oil: Antimicrobial activity, microstructure, mechanical and barrier properties

•We developed cassava starch composite films incorporated with essential oils.•The microstructure and mechanical and barrier properties were tested.•The antimicrobial activity was tested against fungi currently found in bread.•The cinnamon and clove essential oils have proven antimicrobial activity.

Antimicrobial activity of cinnamon and clove essential oils is widely known; however their application to polymeric materials is already limited. Based on results of their minimum inhibitory concentration against Penicillium commune and Eurotium amstelodami, cinnamon was chosen to be incorporated into cassava starch films in order to develop an active packaging. The effect of cinnamon essential oil were evaluated on antimicrobial activity, mechanical and barrier properties of films and the results were compared with those of control films (without antimicrobial agent). ANOVA (P < 0.05) showed that the essential oil content influenced significantly the properties of the films. The release of antimicrobial agent and the microstructure of cassava films incorporated with cinnamon essential oil were also studied. Furthermore, all films, containing different amounts of essential oil, showed effective antimicrobial activity against P. commune and E. amstelodami, fungi commonly found in bread products.