Development of Antioxidant Film from Basil Seed (Ocimum citriodourum) Mucilage Incorporated with Thyme Essential Oil.

Abstract

The objectives of this research was to evaluate the effects of thyme essential oil addition on physical properties and antioxidant activity of lemon basil seed mucilage film. Lemon basil is a common name for the culinary herb (Ocimum citriodourum). This research project investigated the properties of an edible film based on lemon basil seed mucilage (LBSM) incorporated with thyme essential oil (TEO). LBSM (0.4% w/v) films were prepared by adding glycerol as plasticizers at the concentration of 30% w/w based on the weight of LBSM and then incorporated with TEO for antioxidant properties. LBSM films were given different concentrations of TEO (0%, 1%, 2% and 3% v/v) (0% as the control). The result showed that films with 3 % TEO had the highest water vapor permeability (WVP) (3.27±0.38 x10-4g mm/m2d kPa), while the control film showed the lowest WVP (1.36±0.28 x10-4g mm/m2d kPa). Water solubility were decreased with the increase in TEO concentration (p<0.05). 1% TEO films showed the highest tensile strength (5.17±0.54MPa) but lower % elongation at break (11.28±1.86%) compared to the other two films (p<0.05) (excluding the control). Scanning electron microscopy showed that the microstructure of the TEO LBSM films had a critical effect on its physical properties, further supporting the tensile strength and WVP results. The 3% TEO film exhibited the highest radical scavenging activity on DPPH (3.3±0.04 % inhibition) (p<0.05) while the others were very low and had slight difference. Increasing the amount of TEO will increase the antioxidant activity, but further increasing the concentration of TEO will also weaken the physical properties of the film.