Sustained-release composite films incorporated with cinnamon essential oil: Characterization, release kinetics and application for cherry tomato preservation

Food spoilage waste accelerated the development of bio-based active food packaging. Sustained-release composite films based on oxidized corn starch/pullulan were prepared by incorporating cinnamon essential oil (CEO) nanoemulsion. The SEM, ATR-FTIR and XRD results showed that CEO was successfully encapsulated in film matrixes. The composite films exhibited the increase of thermal stability, UV-shielding, flexibility and water vapor resistance properties. The films containing CEO nanoemulsion (≥10%) showed excellent antimicrobial activities against S. aureus, E. coli and B. cinerea (the maximum inhibition zones achieving 27.23 ± 2.31 mm). The release kinetics results showed sustained release of CEO from the films with high content of CEO nanoemulsion, and the dominant release mechanism was Fickian diffusion. The composite films effectively maintained cell structure, weight, firmness and total soluble solids content of fruits during storage. Therefore, the sustained-release composite films could be a prospective packaging material for fruits preservation. •Addition of cinnamon essential oil nanoemulsion improved the water vapor resistance properties of the films.•The composite films showed high thermal stability and UV-shielding ability.•The composite films exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity against B. cinerea.•The dominant release mechanism of cinnamon essential oil from the films was Fickian diffusion.•The films can effectively maintain quality of cherry tomatoes during storage.