Innovation in Eco-Friendly, Sustainable Bio-Material for Food Packaging: Characterization of PLA/Banana Fiber/Tulsi Essential Oil Composite Films, A Preliminary Evaluation for Strawberry Preservation

Arumugam, S, Jessie, JA, Rajesh, M, Jacob, J, Lavanya, M, Rajarathinam, R, Pazhani, A and Batako, A ORCID: 0000-0002-4613-7067 (2026) Innovation in Eco-Friendly, Sustainable Bio-Material for Food Packaging: Characterization of PLA/Banana Fiber/Tulsi Essential Oil Composite Films, A Preliminary Evaluation for Strawberry Preservation. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 2026 (1). ISSN 0145-8892

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Abstract

In this work, poly (lactic acid) (PLA)-based composite pellets were first prepared by varying loading rates (5, 10, and 15 wt.%) of banana fibers (BF) by the twin extrusion method. These PLA-based pellets were subsequently used to fabricate composite films via the solution casting route, incorporating 2 wt.% Tulsi essential oil (TEO) as a natural bioactive agent. According to the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) results, the composite films interactions among the PLA matrix and the additives (BF and TEO) were indeed physical in nature. Particularly, the PLA-based films that were incorporated with 2 wt.% TEO and 10 wt.% BF (PLA/2TEO/10BF) exhibited an increase in tensile strength from 22.1 ± 1.03 to 36.3 ± 0.64 MPa (64.25%) and a corresponding increment in water contact angle (WCA) from 81° to 90° when contrasted with the virgin PLA films. In addition, the PLA/2TEO/10BF composite films demonstrated exceptional flexibility, with an elongation at break of 8.74%, and superior oxygen and water vapor barrier characteristics in comparison with neat PLA films. Compact morphology and uniform distribution of BF were observed in the PLA/2TEO/10BF films through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis. Furthermore, these composites exhibited exceptional inhibiting action against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). In a preliminary proof-of-concept strawberry storage study, the PLA/2TEO/10BF film exhibited the lowest physiological weight loss (3.27%, 8.85%, and 11.89% at 5, 10, and 15 days, respectively) indicating its promising potential for strawberry preservation.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	active packaging; banana fiber; barrier properties; strawberries; Tulsi oil; active packaging; banana fiber; barrier properties; strawberries; Tulsi oil; 40 Engineering; 4016 Materials Engineering; 0908 Food Sciences; Food Science; 3006 Food sciences; 4004 Chemical engineering
Subjects:	T Technology > TX Home economics > TX341 Nutrition. Foods and food supply T Technology > T Technology (General)
Divisions:	Engineering and Built Environment
Publisher:	Wiley
Date of acceptance:	22 September 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	20 October 2026
Date Deposited:	20 Oct 2026 13:52
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2026 13:52
DOI or ID number:	10.1155/jfpp/1854882
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29716

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