Preparation and Properties Analysis of Edible Watermelon Rind Based Film

Abstract:

In order to recycle by-products of fruit and vegetable，watermelon rind was used to prepare edible film with sodium alginate as thickener and glycerol as plasticizer via flow-casting method. The effects of the content of watermelon rind，sodium alginate and glycerol on the sensory qualities，tensile properties and barrier properties of the films were investigated. The results showed that the optimal formula to prepare edible watermelon rind based films was 55% watermelon rind（w/w），0.35% sodium alginate（w/w） and 0.20% glycerol（v/v）. At this optimal formula，the comprehensive performance of the edible film is 90 point in sensory qualities，0.072 mm in thickness（T），18.09 MPa in tensile strength（TS），18.92 % in elongation at break（E），3.068×10-12 g·cm/cm2·s·Pa in water vapor permeability（WVP） and 4.042×10-17 cm3·cm/cm2·s·Pa in oxygen permeability（OP），respectively. Moreover，the edible watermelon rind based films could prolong shelf life of figs to some degree，which have potential applications such as keep-fresh packages for fruits and vegetables.