Biodegradable material with mango leaf extracts preserves food for longer

A team of researchers from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Food Technology at the University of Cádiz (UCA), Spain, has developed a new biodegradable material capable of extending the shelf life of food thanks to natural extracts from mango leaves incorporated into bioplastics. The study ‘Development and characterization of Polylactic acid-Polyhydroxybutyrate (PLA-PHB) blend impregnated with mango extracts for use as active film’, published in the journal Industrial Crops and Products, details the creation of an active film for packaging that combines polylactic acid (PLA), obtained from plant resources such as corn or sugar cane, and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a polymer produced by bacteria. A new use for mango leaves The innovation lies in the method of incorporating the antioxidant compounds from mango: instead of using chemicals or high temperatures, the team resorted to impregnation with supercritical carbon dioxide, a state in which CO₂ acts simultaneously as a ...