The effects of methylcellulose coating containing carvacrol or menthol on the physicochemical, mechanical, and antimicrobial activity of polyethylene films

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Abstract
In this study, the physicochemical, mechanical, and antimicrobial activities of polyethylene (PE) films coated with peppermint (Menthol) and Origanum vulgare (Carvacrol) essential oil were evaluated. For this reason, PE films were coated with MC‐HPMC solution containing different concentrations of menthol and carvacrol (0, 1, 1.5, and 2%), and mechanical, electromagnetic, barrier, and antimicrobial properties of all prepared films were examined. The obtained results demonstrated that by increasing the concentration of menthol and carvacrol in film coatings, tensile strength (from 36 to 23 MPa), water vapor permeability (from 12 to 11 g.m‐1s‐1Pa‐1), and L* and b* indexes were decreased, while the oxygen permeability (OP) and elongation at break significantly were increased (p < .05). Increment of menthol and carvacrol concentration in PE film coating leads to an increase in the antimicrobial activity of films against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria innocua, and Saccharomyces cervicea. Finally, the results obtained from this study demonstrated that PE film coated with high levels of carvacrol and menthol could be used as active antimicrobial packaging in the food packaging industry.

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