In this study, Ecklonia cava alginate (ECA) was used as a base material for biodegradable films. Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) was used as a cross-linking agent, and various concentrations (0%, 0.4%, 0.7%, and 1.0%) of cinnamon leaf oil (CLO) or cinnamon bark oil (CBO) were incorporated to prepare active films. The ECA film containing 3% CaCl₂ had a tensile strength (TS) of 17.82 MPa and an elongation at break (E) of 10.36%, which were higher than those of the film without CaCl₂. As the content of essential oils (EOs) increased, TS decreased and E increased. Addition of CLO or CBO also provided antioxidant and antimicrobial activities to the ECA films. The antioxidant activity of the ECA film with CBO was higher than that of the film containing CLO. In particular, the scavenging activities of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radicals in the ECA film containing 1% CBO were 50.45% and 99.37%, respectively. In contrast, the antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes were superior in the ECA films with CLO. These results suggest that ECA films containing CLO or CBO can be applied as new active packaging materials.
Keywords: active packaging materials; alginate films; antimicrobial agents; antioxidant activity; biodegradable films; essential oils.