Antimicrobial and mechanical properties of β-cyclodextrin inclusion with essential oils in chitosan films

Chitosan films incorporated with various concentrations of the complex of β-cyclodextrin and essential oils (β-CD/EO) were prepared and investigated for antimicrobial, mechanical, and physical properties. Four bacterial strains that commonly contaminate food products were chosen as target bacteria to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the prepared films. The incorporation of β-CD/EO significantly increased the antimicrobial activities of the chitosan films against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. It was also found that tensile strength (TS) of chitosan film was significantly increased with the incorporation of the β-cyclodextrin and 0.75% essential oils complex. The elongation at break (EB) decreased with the increasing concentrations of essential oils. Inclusion of the complex of β-cyclodextrin and 0.25% essential oils also significantly decreased water vapor permeability (WVP) of chitosan films. Our results suggest that chitosan films containing β-CD/EO could be used as active food-packaging material.