The present study aimed to produce bio-active packaging materials made of whey proteins

(WPs) and essential oil (EO) extracted from Thymbra (Satureja capitata, L.), one of the most popular

Palestinian wild plants. In this study, two different Thymbra leaves from Nablus and Qabatiya

in Palestine were collected and analyzed for EOs by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Based on the analysis, two EOs, namely, TEO1 and TEO2, were extracted, and it was found that both

samples primarily contain γ-terpinene and carvacrol, whereas p-cymene was detected only in TEO1.

The antimicrobial activity of TEO1 and TEO2 was evaluated by microbroth microdilution assays

against pathogenic bacteria and yeast. Based on the results, TEO1 exhibited potent antimicrobial

activity against the test strains. Besides, TEO1 was chosen to functionalize WP-based films at different

concentrations (0.1%, 0.4%, and 0.8% v/v of Film Forming Solutions). Film mechanical property

investigation showed a marked reduction in the tensile strength and Young’s modulus at 0.8% TEO1.

In contrast, its elongation at break value was significantly (p < 0.05) increased due to the plasticizing

effect of the EO. Moreover, the film transparency was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by

increasing TEO1 concentrations. Finally, microbiological investigations indicated that film antimicro￾bial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria increased dose-dependently. The

overall results open interesting perspectives for employing these films as preservative materials in

food packaging.

Title

Coatings

Publisher

MDPI

Publisher Country

United States of America

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

2.34

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

--

Year

2019

Pages

--