Development and characterization of edible peanut protein films

In this work, novel edible films were developed from peanut protein with sorbitol as a plasticizer. The peanut protein was extracted from peanut flour. Two groups of films were prepared. One group contained 10% in weight of natural oil/fat of the peanuts, while the other group contained no oil/fat. Six types of films with 37.5%, 44.5%, and 50% sorbitol content by weight, with and without fat, were chosen for mechanical properties characterization and microscopic observations. It was found that with the increase of sorbitol content, higher tensile strength and higher Young's modulus were achieved for the films without fat. However, films with fat exhibited maximum strength and modulus at 44.5% sorbitol content. Relationships between the mechanical properties and the microscopic features of these films were established. It was found that the higher the content of the sorbitol, the more evident the crystalline structure. Grant numbers: NCC9-51.