Influence of boswellic acid on multifunctional properties of chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol) films for active food packaging.

Present work aimed to develop active packaging films based on chitosan (CS), poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and boswellic acid (BA), and to evaluate the effect of BA on multifunctional properties of CS/PVA (CPBA) active films. Different compositions of active packaging films were prepared by the solvent casting method. The results indicated that incorporation of BA enhanced the ultraviolet blocking, morphology, mechanical properties, water solubility and hydrophilicity of the CPBA active films. Significant improvement in the barriers properties of BA incorporated CPBA active films were observed. The microbiological screening has demonstrated the antimicrobial activity of the films against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Furthermore, the prepared active films do not deteriorate the thermal properties after incorporation of BA. The overall migration values of the CPBA active films in contact with food simulants were within the permitted limits. The obtained results indicate that the CPBA active film may be a promising material for food packaging applications.