The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of sonication and clove oil incorporation on the improvement of physical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties and lipid oxidation inhibiting abilities of mung bean flour (MF)-based films. There were three groups of films tested (1) MF: mung bean flour alone, (2) MFC: MF incorporated with 2% clove oil (C), and (3) MFCU: MFC prepared with sonication (25 kHz, 100% amplitude, 10 min). Film thickness and bulk density showed slight differences, and moisture content, solubility, and water vapor permeability significantly differed between the formulations. Tensile strength, elongation at break, and Young’s modulus were highest for the MFCU films, followed by MFC and MF in rank order. Furthermore, the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy results also demonstrated that the clove oil and sonication treatment had improved the interconnections of the biopolymers, thus increasing the physical strength of the film. Phytochemicals in terms of total phenolics and total flavonoids were elevated in the MFCU films and contributed to stronger radical scavenging abilities (p < 0.05). MFC and MFCU films showed a strong antibacterial control of the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and also of the Gram-negative Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni). Overall, the lipid oxidation indicators Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS, peroxide value, p-anisidine value, and totox value) showed significantly high inhibition, attributed to radical scavenging activities in the MFCU and MFC samples. The mung bean flour films incorporated with clove oil and prepared with sonication have good potential as packaging materials for food due to strong physical, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, as well as lipid oxidation inhibiting abilities.
Keywords: antioxidant and antimicrobial properties; clove oil; edible films; mung bean flour; sonication.