Antioxidant Activity and Biodegradability of Thermoplastic Starch Red Cabbage/Calcium Carbonate Biocomposite Films

Nowadays, thermoplastic starch-based biopolymers are an option to be developed into products for domestic use. However, thermoplastic starch (TPS) has poor antioxidant characteristic, which restricts its use in food packaging or films. To address this issue, the starch can be combined with a green and low-cost anti-oxidative agent, to create a new, reasonably priced TPS biocomposites. Anti-oxidative agent that derived from natural sources is the best option due to the non-toxicity, environmentally friendly and abundancy. In this study, the shear mixing and casting processes were employed to form biocomposite films made of TPS, red cabbage, and calcium carbonate with varying calcium carbonate loadings. Prior to the production of the biocomposite, the anthocyanins in the red cabbage was extracted for use as an antioxidant. The biocomposites' structures and morphology were examined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Antioxidant and biodegradability testing were performed to assess the suitability of the TPS biocomposites for biodegradable food packaging application. Results indicate that the antioxidant activity and biodegradability of the TPS improved with the addition of the red cabbage, either in powder form or liquid form. Furthermore, the red cabbage powder not only acts as antioxidant but also as filler together with CaCO 3 to improve the performance of the TPS biocomposite for food packaging application.