Carboxymethyl chitosan-pullulan edible films enriched with galangal essential oil: Characterization and application in mango preservation

[Display omitted] •Carboxymethyl chitosan and pullulan exhibited good compatibility in the film matrix.•Galangal essential oil was successfully loaded in CMCS/Pul blend film.•The loading of 8 % GEO improved the preservation effect of blend films on mango.•CMCS/Pul-GEO blend films offered a potential alternative to synthetic materials. This study aimed to develop an active edible film based on carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and pullulan (Pul) incorporated with galangal essential oil (GEO) by the casting method. And their physical properties, structural and preservation effect on mangoes were characterized. The CMCS/Pul ratio was determined to be 2.5:2.5 after the optimization of physical properties, mechanical properties and barrier properties of the blend film. The results of FT-IR and XRD showed that hydroxyl groups of Pul interacted with the carboxyl groups of CMCS and the blend films had good compatibility. Good thermal stability of CMCS/Pul-GEO films was further proven by TGA curves. The CMCS/Pul-8 %GEO film showed effective preservations on mango fruits during 15 days of storage at 25 ± 1 °C, based on the characterization by fruits weight loss, firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids. Consequently, CMCS/Pul-GEO blend films may be a promising eco-friendly packaging material for the industrial application of fruit preservation.