Abstract:
Investigation of potential biopolymers for developing edible flms as alternatives for plastic packaging is a recent trend.
Among the biopolymers used in edible flm making, galactomannan is a good flm-forming agent. Caesalpinia pulcherrima
seed gum is a rich source of galactomannan and could be used as an edible flm making material. The main objective of this
study was to identify the ability of Caesalpinia pulcherrima seed gum in making a food packaging flm and assessing its
performance. In this study, the gum was extracted from Caesalpinia pulcherrima seeds and dissolved in distilled water along
with the plasticizer glycerol. In preparing flm-forming solutions, a previously selected range of glycerol concentrations (0.0,
0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%) was used. After casting and drying, the resultant flms were analyzed for their physical and mechanical
properties. In the present study, the flm prior to incorporating glycerol was brittle, less fexible and had a strong flm matrix.
With the increase of glycerol content, the flm became more fexible, sticky and weak. Further, the physical properties
namely thickness, moisture content, swelling index, water solubility of Caesalpinia pulcherrima seed gum-based flms were
increased from 0.039±0.001 to 0.076±0.001 mm, from 62.92±0.51 to 69.40±0.15%, from 5.39±0.17 to 8.45±0.17,
from 55.69±0.51 to 66.66±0.45%, respectively, with the increase of glycerol content from 0.0 to 1.5%. Concerning the
mechanical properties, the tensile strength and Young’s module were decreased from 10.90±0.08 to 2.11±0.05 MPa and
from 48.46±0.24 to 3.47±0.09 MPa, respectively, and the elongation was increased from 22.50±0.05 to 60.84±0.04%
with increasing the glycerol content from 0.0 to 1.5%. Due to its physical and mechanical properties, Caesalpinia pulcherrima seed gum is a potential source for edible packaging flm manufacture.
