Octenyl succinic anhydride starch-lemon essential oil coatings with superior preservative effects on fresh foods.

Starch-based coatings that incorporate active agents have potential to prolong the shelf-life of fresh foods. In this study, coatings made from maize or pea starches modified by octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) esterification and incorporating lemon essential oil (LEO) are shown to have better preservative effects for fresh foods than coatings made from the unmodified starches. OSA esterification enhanced the stability of dispersion of LEO in starch emulsions, thereby facilitating the formation of starch-LEO films with better morphology. Starch-LEO inclusion complexes were formed in the preparation of starch-LEO films, especially in those made with OSA-pea starch. Films made from OSA-starch-LEO emulsions had better functional properties than the corresponding films made from the respective unmodified starch. Accordingly, the OSA-pea starch-LEO coatings showed the best preservative effects on the quality and shelf-life of fresh apricots and pork. This study demonstrated that OSA modification of starch shows promise as a way for preparing starch-based coatings incorporating essential oils and having good preservative effects.