Active edible and biodegradable starch films

Abstract

Starch appears as a good alternative to petro-based plastics. This biopolymer exhibits a greater potential to obtain biodegradable films, thanks to its easy availability and low cost. Starch has been used to develop edible, biodegradable, active films using different strategies: Blending with antimicrobial polymers, active nanoparticles, and other antioxidant or antimicrobial compounds, such as essential oils of phenolic extracts. The incorporation of these compounds to starch or starch blend films has an impact on their physical properties which can affect their functionality as a packaging material.