Development and characterization of starch/LDPE active films incorporated with date palm seed extract

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seed extract was incorporated into LDPE-starch to develop an active packaging film. The mechanical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of the films were investigated. The LDPE-starch film without date seed extracts was used as the control film. However, films with higher extract contents exhibited lower tensile strengths (TS values), which ranged from 9.5 to 4.3 MPa. Date seed extracts significantly (p<0.05) improved the antioxidant properties of the films which were measured by the DPPH test. The film’s antimicrobial activities also increased significantly (p<0.05) after the incorporation of the seed extract. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was found to be the most sensitive bacterium to the active film, followed by Escherichia coli (E. coli). The largest inhibition zone (11.8 mm) was observed for S. aureus around the film incorporated with 5% (w/w) extract. These results revealed that films containing seed extract have great potential as an active film with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, and thus it can help maintain the quality and prolong the shelf life of food products.