Flavor, antimicrobial activity, and physical properties of composite film prepared with different surfactants

Different surfactants (lecithin, Tween‐20, and Tween‐80) were added in composite film during the preparation. Flavor, antimicrobial activity, and physical properties of ginger essential oil ‐gelatin film were investigated, in order to study the effect of surfactants on the properties of film. The flavor of GEO was not detected in the film prepared with Tween‐20 and film prepared with Tween‐80, and these two films exhibited stronger antimicrobial activity; film prepared with lecithin possessed higher value in thickness, elongation at break, water solubility, ΔE and opacity, lower value in water vapor property, and tensile strength; attenuated total reflectance‐Fourier transform infrared spectrum results suggested, Tween‐20 and Tween‐80 enhanced the strength of covalent bond, and lecithin weakened the strength of hydrogen bond; and the result of scanning electron microscope showed that Tween‐20 and Tween‐80 improved the dispersion of oil droplets in film. Therefore, this study suggested that surfactants had an influence on the physical properties and molecular structure of a resulting film; in addition, Tween‐20 and Tween‐80 could reduce the flavor of GEO in film, improving the antimicrobial activity of film.