Mechanical and structural properties of rabbit skin gelatin films

In this article, the characteristics and structure of rabbit skin gelatin (RG) films were measured and compared with porcine skin gelatin (PG) films. The RG film was 8–10 μm thinner than that of PG film. RG films had better resistance to water and lower water solubility than did the PG film with the same gelatin and glycerol ratio due to the difference in their amino acid composition. The two types of gelatin films were almost transparent, which could give food a good appearance quality if these are used as packaging films. Both showed excellent barrier properties against UV light and could prevent the lipid oxidation reaction induced by ultraviolet light in the food system. The RG and PG films showed similar trends in mechanical properties as the change of their components. In general, the rigidity of the RG films was slightly lower than that of the PG films, but the flexibility was more prominent. This was due to intense interaction between gelatin molecules and glycerol molecules in RG films, but the dominant interaction was between the gelatin molecules in the PG films. The surfaces and cross-section microstructures of the RG and PG films were smooth and homogeneous, however for the RG films were more compact compared with the PG films.