Characterization of Aloe vera-banana starch composite films reinforced with curcumin-loaded starch nanoparticles

Interest in developing biodegradable composite films that can incorporate bioactive substances and have and active role in food packaging, has been growing in the last decades. Curcumin, known for its antimicrobial and antioxidant activity has been proposed as an active molecule that can be incorporated into biodegradable films. This work proposes the development and characterization of composite films made from banana starch and Aloe Vera gel incorporated with curcumin-loaded native and acetylated starch nanoparticles. The effect of the curcumin-loaded nanovehicles in the mechanical, barrier, and thermal properties of the composite films was studied. In this sense, the study noted that inclusion of highly hydrophobic curcumin leads to a reduction of the film’s water vapor permeability while enhancing the film’s tensile strength. Finally, this paper reports the release profiles of curcumin from the composite film in different food simulants, observing that it is possible to control curcumin release in different foodstuffs by changing the characteristics of the nanovehicles incorporated.