Edible films from triggerfish gelatin and Moringa oleifera extract: Physical properties and application in wrapping ricotta cheese

The ricotta cheese undergoes early microbiological spoilage and high moisture loss that leads to brittle texture. The development of edible films based on active biomaterials plays an important role in the cheese industry. Thus, gelatin was extracted from the grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) co-product. The gelatin films were prepared and enriched with 5, 10 and 20 mu g/ml of different solvent extracts from Moringa oleifera leaves. As compared to the control film, the lightness (L*) and redness (a*) of the enriched films decreased slightly, while their yellowness (b*) increased as the level of enrichment increased. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was measured in the thickness, tensile strength and elongation at break of the enriched films. As compared to the control geltin-based film, the film enriched with 20 mu g/ml of ethanolic extract (F-MOE) showed 35% reduction in water vapor permeability, and then was chosen to wrapp cheese. Interestingly, after 6 days of storage, the F-MOE-wrapped ricotta cheese showed a significant reduction (p <= 0.05) in weight loss, approximately 34% compared to the unwrapped cheese. Furthermore, the F-MOE-wrapped cheese showed the lowest changes in pH, color and texture parameters, as well as the lowest levels of lipid peroxidation (0.90 +/- 0.03 mg MDA/kg cheese), and yeasts and molds (2.78 +/- 0.14 log CFU/g cheese), which could be explained by the phenolics incorporated into the film. The film made from grey triggerfish gelatin and enriched with M. oleifera ethanolic extract could be used to reduce microbiological spoilage and preserved the physical quality of ricotta cheese, which were economically important parameters.