Chitosan-gum Arabic nanofiber mats encapsulated with pH-sensitive Rosa damascena anthocyanins for freshness monitoring of chicken fillets

The objectives of the current study were to incorporate Rosa damascena extract 5% (RDE) into the chitosan (CH)-gum Arabic (GA) nanofiber mats using the electrospinning method and investigate the effects of fabricated nanofibers on monitoring the freshness of raw chicken fillets during refrigerated storage. The resultant electrospun CH-GA and CH-GA + RDE 5% nanofibers had a uniform, homogeneous, and cylindrical structure with mean diameters of 300.12 ± 0.25 nm and 725.39 ± 0.46 nm, respectively. The CH-GA nanofiber mats had acceptable thickness (0.28–0.55 mm), tensile strength (3.77–6.71 MPa), elongation at break (7.68%−111.43%), moisture content (2.21%−5.42%), water vapor permeability (9.03–18.97 × 10‾4 g mm/m² h Pa), and water solubility (19.56%−32.17%). The fabricated CH-GA + RDE 5% nanofibers showed visible color responses when subjected to the different pH buffer solutions as follows: pink (pH 1); red (pH 2–3); pale red (pH 4–5); dark khaki (pH 6–8); green (pH 9–10); and brown (pH 11–12). In visual monitoring trial using raw chicken fillets, the color of intelligent nanofibers changed from white to khaki as the chicken fillets spoiled. Our findings indicate the suitability of the electrospun CH-GA + RDE 5% nanofiber mats as a simple and easy-to-use freshness indicator for intelligent chicken fillet’s packaging.