Functional bio-packaging enhanced with nanocellulose from rice straw and cinnamon essential oil Pickering emulsion for fruit preservation

Biopackaging materials are gaining significant attention compared to traditional synthetic polymers thanks to their biodegradable and biocompatible nature to be used in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. The current major gaps in research regarding these biopackaging materials are their low mechanical strength and the introduction of functional additives to enhance their range of applications. In this paper, a biopackaging material is formulated using polyvinyl alcohol with glycerol as a plasticizer, rice straw-derived nanocellulose as a mechanical property enhancer and cinnamon essential oil Pickering emulsion as the main functional ingredient for strawberry preservation. With the combination of nanocellulose and Pickering emulsion, this study finds that the packaging material exhibits good heat-resistance, mechanical, and water-barrier properties. At an emulsion concentration as low as 10% (v/w) in the casting solution, high UV absorbance capacity (up to 100% UVC), high antibacterial activity (92.4% Escherichia coli inhibition), and good antioxidative properties (up to 43% DPPH radical scavenging) were observed. These bioactive properties and the inherent moisture barrier property of the packaging material are utilized for strawberry preservation with a significant preservation time of 21 days compared to control samples that start to grow a white fungus on day 11. This combination of biopackaging with a naturally derived functional additive is proven to be effective in preserving fruits, especially easily spoiled ones like strawberries.