Development and characterization of packaging films based on guar gum, polyvinyl alcohol and curcumin

Packaging has always been necessary to preserve ready-to-eat or portable foods. Due to their lightness and thinness, packaging films have emerged as the most suitable materials for serving this purpose. Food packaging ensures the protection of food against physical, chemical, and biological factors during storage and transportation. The primary purpose of packaging is not only to preserve the quality of food from the point of packaging to the final consumer but also to directly impact marketing and sales processes, meeting both industrial and consumer needs. The increasing consumer demand for healthier, more reliable, fast, and longer shelf-life food has driven developers and experts in the field of food packaging to innovate and research to meet these needs. With the rapid development in the packaging industry, recent times have witnessed the evolution of innovative packaging materials and technologies that offer different advantages, alongside packaging methods that provide limited contributions due to their barrier properties. While traditional packaging films were originally used to prevent moisture loss during the storage and transportation of food, these newly developed packaging materials are now also employed to enhance the quality features for extending the shelf life of food. Additionally, these packaging materials, through the enhancement of antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, prevent undesirable color formation, lipid oxidation, and microbial spoilage in foods. In this thesis study, guar gum and polyvinylalcohol based films containing curcumin at different rates were developed and characterized. As a result of the characterization studies; it was determined that biological activities also improved along with the improvements in physical, morphological and optical properties, however there was no significant change in mechanical properties.