Abstract
The main aim of this study was to develop rice starch (RS), L-carrageenan (L-car)-based film. Different formulations of RS (1-4%, w/w), i-car (0.5-2%, w/w) was blended with stearic acid (SA; 0.3-0.9%, w/w) and glycerol (1%, w/w) as a plasticizer. The effect of film ingredients on the thickness, water vapour permeability (WVP), film solubility (FS), moisture content (MC), colour, film opacity (F0), tensile strength (TS), elongation-at-break (EAB) of film was examined. Interactions and miscibility of partaking components was studied by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Hydrocolloid suspension solution of mix polysaccharides imparted a significant impact (p <0.05) on the important attributes of resulting edible film. TS and EAB of film were improved significantly (p<0.05) when u-car was increased in the film matrix. Formulation Fl comprising 2% L-car, 2% RS, 0.3% SA, Gly 30% w/w and 0.2% surfactant (tween (R) 20) provided film with good physical, mechanical and barrier properties. FT-IR and XRD results reveal that molecular interactions between RS-u-car have a great impact on the film properties confining the compatibility and miscibility of mixed polysaccharide. Results of the study offers new biodegradable formulation for application on fruit and vegetables.