Shelf-life extension of refrigerated rainbow trout fillets using chitosan/gelatin bilayer film enriched with ZnO nanoparticles and tea polyphenols
摘要
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a chitosan–gelatin film incorporated with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and tea polyphenols (TPs) on the bacterial count, physicochemical properties, and sensory attributes of rainbow trout during refrigerated storage. To achieve this aim, the fillets were divided into five treatment groups: (1) control (treated with distilled water); (2) chitosan–gelatin film; (3) chitosan–gelatin film with ZnO NPs; (4) chitosan–gelatin film with TPs; and (5) chitosan–gelatin film with both ZnO NPs and TPs. Then, the treated fillets were kept at 4 °C and quality analysis was performed on days 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12. Although ZnO nanoparticles generally demonstrated stronger preservative effects than tea polyphenols when applied individually, the combined incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles and tea polyphenols produced the most pronounced improvement in physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory quality during refrigerated storage. Throughout the 12-day storage period, the chitosan–gelatin/ZnO NPs-TPs composite demonstrated superior efficacy in in controlling both microbial load and lipid oxidation in rainbow trout compared to all other treatments. Sensory evaluation revealed that the experimental groups, specifically the chitosan–gelatin/ZnO NPs film on day 9 and the chitosan–gelatin/ZnO NPs-TPs film on day 12, achieved significantly greater acceptance scores than the control group. Results reveal that the enhanced antioxidant and antibacterial activity observed with the addition of ZnO NPs and TPs to chitosan–gelatin suggests this composite is a highly promising material for developing effective active packaging systems.