Development of Neem Based Bioplastic for Food Packaging Application

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Abstract
Neem (Azadirachta indica) belongs to mahogany family Meliaceae. It is a traditional medicine used in India. Each part of the tree is used in development of many products such as antifungal, anthelmintic, anti diabetic, antiviral, antibacterial, sedative, contraceptive and others. Present work unveils biopolymer properties of Neem leaf extract (NLE) and their tensile properties for the food packaging applications. In this study, Neem leaves were collected and poured in boiling water (1:10) and crude extract of Neem obtained was then cooled and reconciled for 24hrs, constituents such as glycerol, glucose, agar and Gelatin were added and further, heated for about 20 minutes at 60° C of temperature. A biopolymer based plastic formation was observed after 48 hrs of incubation at room temperature. The biopolymer was found to be green in colour and there was no fungal or bacterial growth was observed on the bio polymeric film, indicated its medicinal and aseptic properties. Since, micro tensile test was carried out for the developed polymeric film. However, its strength was relatively weaker than bioplastic material, but requires significantly less energy for its development. Hence, further rigorous research work has to be carried out to improve its strength properties to use them as a suitable packaging material and could be potential biomaterials to replace the conventional plastic.