The effect of wuluh starfruit (Averrhoa bilimbi L.) added on the physicochemical and antimicrobial characteristics of chitosan-PVA edible film

Abstract

Edible film is an eco-friendly packaging innovation that can be a solution in dealing with the plastic waste problem. Apart from that, edible film is expected to have antimicrobial properties that can extend packaged food products' shelf life. Wuluh starfruit (Averrhoa bilimbi L.), a tropical plant from Southeast Asia that contains organic acid compounds, functions as an antimicrobial that can be added to edible films. This research aims to de- termine the effect of wuluh starfruit juice addition in making the edible film in terms of its micro-bacterial and physicochemical properties. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with seven treatment levels and five replications was used as the experimental de- sign. The results showed that the treatment with the addition of 4% wuluh starfruit juice (Treatment C) with an antibacterial value of the disc method of 1.28 mm was the most optimal treatment because the bacterial inhibitory power at this concentration increased the most optimally compared to other treatments. The physicochemical characteristics of the treatment C edible file are moisture content of 17.29 %; thickness of 0.55 mm; water vapour transmission rate of 60.01 g/m2/day; solubility of 42.79 %; tensile strength of 22.29 kgf/cm2; elongation of 44.47 %; and pH of 6.23