Preparation and Sustained Release Properties of Cinnamon Edible Essential Oil Composite Film

In order to expand the application of cinnamon essential oil (cinnamon essential oil, CEO), CEO was added to oxidized hydroxypropyl cassava starch as an active substance to prepare composite films. The mechanical properties and barrier properties were taken as the test index, the preparation process of CEO membrane was optimized by single factor and orthogonal experiments, and its release rate in different food simulations was determined. The study found that when the mass fraction of starch was 5.0% (m/v, based on the volume of distilled water), the mass fraction of cinnamon essential oil, glycerin and Tween-80 were 1.5%, 1.0% and 1.0%, respectively (m/v, based on the volume of starch solution), the film produced had the best performance. And then, the film had a higher elongation at break and higher tensile strength, which were 27.87% and 1.42 MPa, respectively. The water vapor transmission coefficient and oil permeability were relatively small, at 1.27×10⁻¹² g·cm/cm²·s·Pa and 0.2131 g·mm/mm²·d, light transmittance was 30.56%. In the same kind of food simulant, the time for the release of CEO to reach the maximum was prolonged as the content of CEO increases; among different food simulations, the fastest release rate of CEO was oil-in-water emulsion and alcoholic food simulator, and the slowest was fatty food simulator. The results showed that CEO could improve the barrier properties and mechanical properties of starch-based film. The prepared CEO composite film was conducive to the packaging of fatty foods, and the CEO could be released slowly and played an active role for a long time.