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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #421552
Research Project: Integration and Validation of Alternative and Multiple Intervention Technologies to Enhance Microbial Safety, Quality, and Shelf-life of Food

Location: Microbial and Chemical Food Safety

Title: Emerging chitosan systems incorporated with polyphenols: Their applications in intelligent packaging, active packaging, and nutraceutical systems - A comprehensive review

Author
item CHARLES, ANTO - University Of Nebraska
item RAJASEKARAN, BHARATHIPRIYA - Prince Of Songkla University
item AWASTI, NANCY - Lactalis Usa
item CHOUDHARY, PINTU - Chaudhary Bansi Lal Government Polytechnic
item KHANASHYAM, ANANDU - University Of Minnesota
item WU, YING - Tennessee State University
item PANDISELVAM, RAVI - Central Plantation Crops Research Institute
item Jin, Zhonglin
item MAJUMDER, KAUSTAV - University Of Nebraska

Submitted to: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/30/2025
Publication Date: 4/1/2025
Citation: Charles, A.P., Rajasekaran, B., Awasti, N., Choudhary, P., Khanashyam, A.C., Wu, Y., Pandiselvam, R., Jin, Z.T., Majumder, K. 2025. Emerging chitosan systems incorporated with polyphenols: Their applications in intelligent packaging, active packaging, and nutraceutical systems - A comprehensive review. Food Hydrocolloids. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.142714.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.142714

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Chitosan, a biodegradable anionic polysaccharide, has been increasingly investigated for food packaging and nutraceutical applications. In recent years, chitosan has been combined with polyphenols, a group of health promoting bioactive compounds, to enhance their physicochemical, functional, and biological properties. The synergistic functional attributes of chitosan and polyphenols have paved the way for development of a plethora of novel food packaging materials and nutraceuticals. Although several studies have been conducted on chitosan–polyphenol materials (e.g., films, coating, nanoparticles, Pickering emulsion, emulsion gels), there are no current studies in the literature that comprehensively evaluate the combined effect of chitosan and polyphenol in the development of both food packaging materials and nutraceuticals. Therefore, in this review, novel packaging materials and nutraceuticals consisting of chitosan and polyphenols which have been developed in recent years (2018-2024) are thoroughly investigated. This review initiates with the source, production strategies, and techniques employed to improve the functionality of chitosan. Secondly, the findings associated with important intelligent packaging materials, including pH indicator, time-temperature indicator, and freshness indicator, developed using chitosan–polyphenol is investigated. Following that, the applications of chitosan–polyphenol materials in active food packaging (i.e., antimicrobial, antioxidant, oxygen scavenger, ethylene scavenger, and moisture scavenger) are explored. Notably, chitosan-based delivery systems that are employed to improve the chemical stability, bioaccessibility, and biological properties of polyphenols for nutraceutical applications are summarized. Finally, the challenges associated with the industrial application of chitosan–polyphenol materials are addressed. Overall, this review would benefit a wide range of scientists from food packaging to ingredient sectors, and consumers by providing the current knowledge associated with chitosan–polyphenol materials.