Antimicrobial effects of whey protein films as active food packaging materials

01.05.2006 - 31.01.2007
Eigenprojekt
This diploma thesis shows different aspects of whey protein films as active packaging material. On the one hand results show that whey protein concentrate produced from sour whey is not suitable to form films while whey protein concentrate produced from sweet whey is adequate to form quite usable films when observing the right conditions of film formation and plasticizer amount. On the other hand results show the effects of proteins which are contained in whey, such as lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase and lysozyme, on two very different bacteria strains. Natural whey proteins seem to be effective in an antimicrobial way against Escherichia coli. There was a significant decrease in bacteria count; in contrast the spore forming bacteria Bacillus subtilis was not affected from whey proteins in a significant way. Hence concentrations of antimicrobial agents naturally contained in whey seem not to be high enough to destroy the resistant spores. This diploma thesis is a first step in this research area with very interesting results. Much more research is necessary for this topic. For example it would be challenging to observe effects of whey proteins on many other bacteria strains, but also on yeasts or fungi. Another exciting question is if there are other proteins or peptides with antimicrobial activity and also the special structure of these substances which enables them to suppress the growth of microorganisms. Whey protein films and coatings as active packaging materials promise to have more and more advantages in contrast to conventional packaging materials. There are a lot of application possibilities in the future such as coatings for fresh fruits, preservation of ready-to-eat-foods, substitution of fungicides on plants and many others.

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DeutschEnglisch
MolkenproteinWhey protein
Aktive LebensmittelverpackungsmaterialienActive foodpackaging materials
Antimikrobielle EffekteAntimicrobial effects

Externe Partner_innen

  • Lactoprot AG

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