Evaluation of poly(lactic acid) films incorporated with lemon peel extract oil for food packaging materials

The effects of Citrus lemon peel extract oil (CLPEO) at different ratios (0%, 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0%) on poly lactic acid blend films were evaluated concerning some properties of the films in this study. The antimicrobial effect of these films was determined against Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Salmonella typhimurium, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus according to the parallel stick method. Antioxidant properties of Citrus lemon peel extract oil were investigated using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and TEAC (trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity) method. The inhibition of DPPH for Citrus lemon peel extract oil was found to be as (84%), (76%), (71%), and (62%) for CLPEO, PLA2, PLA1, PLA0.5, respectively. Antibacterial effect was detected at CLPEO and PLA2 films, with CLPEO being important as an environmentally friendly packaging material in terms of antibacterial, antioxidant activity, FT-IR, SEM, WVP, opacity and mechanical properties.