Abstract: The present study aimed to produce bio-active packaging materials made of whey proteins
(WPs) and essential oil (EO) extracted from Thymbra (Satureja capitata, L.), one of the most popular
Palestinian wild plants. In this study, two different Thymbra leaves from Nablus and Qabatiya
in Palestine were collected and analyzed for EOs by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
Based on the analysis, two EOs, namely, TEO1 and TEO2, were extracted, and it was found that both
samples primarily contain -terpinene and carvacrol, whereas p-cymene was detected only in TEO1.
The antimicrobial activity of TEO1 and TEO2 was evaluated by microbroth microdilution assays
against pathogenic bacteria and yeast. Based on the results, TEO1 exhibited potent antimicrobial
activity against the test strains. Besides, TEO1 was chosen to functionalize WP-based films at different
concentrations (0.1%, 0.4%, and 0.8% v/v of Film Forming Solutions). Film mechanical property
investigation showed a marked reduction in the tensile strength and Young’s modulus at 0.8% TEO1.
In contrast, its elongation at break value was significantly (p < 0.05) increased due to the plasticizing
effect of the EO. Moreover, the film transparency was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by
increasing TEO1 concentrations. Finally, microbiological investigations indicated that film antimicrobial
activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria increased dose-dependently

Title

Coatings

Publisher

MDPI

Publisher Country

Switzerland

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

2.8

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

11

Year

2021

Pages

1364