Current Status of Marine Animal Derived Polysaccharides in Sustainable Food Packaging

The dominant use of synthetic plastic derivatives is one of the major concerns across the world. The irrational use of plastic not only causes environmental pollution but also is reported to cause several health hazards. This has led researchers to develop biodegradable packaging materials derived from biomaterials. Polysaccharides are abundantly available biopolymers with excellent biodegradability. Marine animals are a vast source of obtained polysaccharides, including chitosan, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin sulfate. The edible nature of the extracted marine-animal-derived polysaccharides makes it a useful alternative for synthetic derivatives in the food packaging industry. In addition, the antimicrobial and antioxidant behavior of marine-animal-derived polysaccharides has favored its emergence as a packaging material. The film forming, protective, and excellent barrier property has encouraged the scientists to investigate them as food packaging materials. The easy modifiability of these polysaccharides can improve the film forming ability. This Article focuses on the recent advancements in marine animal derived polysaccharides in sustainable food packaging applications.