Assessment of active chitosan films incorporated with gallic acid

Chitosan films with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were prepared by the incorporation of gallic acid as a bioactive. The films obtained were homogeneous, transparent and colorless with high mechanical resistance. Results indicated that films had antimicrobial activity against E. coli, especially those films plasticized with 15 wt % glycerol and containing 20 wt % gallic acid, which showed the biggest inhibition halo. Additionally, gallic acid-incorporated chitosan films exhibited a great antioxidant activity with DPPH scavenging capacity values of 99% and a bioactive release of 33% after 4 days, suggesting the potential suitability of these modified chitosan films as active films for food or pharmaceutical purposes.