Antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of edible zein films incorporated with lysozyme, albumin proteins and disodium EDTA

In this study, partially purified lysozyme was incorporated into zein films in combination with chickpea albumin extract (CPAE), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and disodium EDTA. The zein films showed an inherent free radical scavenging activity. Incorporation of lysozyme did not contribute to soluble free radical scavenging activity of zein films. However, the incorporation of lysozyme in combination with CPAE increased the soluble and immobilized free radical scavenging activity of zein films 17% to 25% and almost 84%, respectively. The incorporation of CPAE also improved the distribution of partially purified lysozyme preparation in zein films and enabled the controlled release of lysozyme by reducing its release rate from zein films between 1.5- and 3.5-fold, depending on the concentration of incorporated CPAE. In contrast, the BSA incorporation made distribution of lysozyme more heterogeneous and it did not contribute to the free radical scavenging activity of films significantly. The combinational incorporation of partially purified lysozyme with disodium EDTA.21-120 or CPAE and disodium EDTA.2H(2)O gave zein films effective on Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. This study clearly showed the benefits of using functional protein extracts to control lysozyme distribution and release rate and to improve antioxidant activity in zein films. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.