Bioactive constituents and bio-waste derived chitosan / xylan based biodegradable hybrid nanocomposite for sensitive detection of fish freshness

[Display omitted] •Chitosan / xylan based biodegradable hybrid nanocomposite were developed.•The PCC films exhibited a visible color change in an NH3 environment.•The PCC films were used as detector to monitor the fish freshness.•Biodegradable behaviours of PCC film were prepared from waste corncob and conch shell. The prime objective of the present study is to develop a biodegradable food packaging hybrid film materials from renewable sources. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), chitosan (CS), xylan (CC) and hydroxyapatite (nHA) were used as the sources of bio-degradable polymer and curcumin (Cur) as antioxidant agent to prepare an intelligent packaging PVA/CS/CC/nHA hybrid film (PCC) to assess the fish freshness. The color change response of PCC in an NH3 environment was studied at different time intervals using electronic absorption spectrum. UV studies indicate that the higher relative humidity was more favorable for a color response. The function trials were conducted to assess the freshness of Indian oil sardine (Sardinellalongiceps) fish at room temperature. The colorimetric behavior of PCC presents the visible and sharp color changes. Hence, the colorimetric behavior of PCC can be considered and used as tool to assess the real-time fish freshness method for smart packaging.