Chitooligosaccharide/polyvinyl alcohol films incorporated with human gut-derived postbiotics for active food preservation

초록

The use of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and probiotics in solid packaging films is limited by processing instability and safety concerns associated with live microorganisms. Although postbiotics offer a live-microbe-free alternative, those derived from human-origin LAB remain underexplored in food packaging applications. To address this gap, we developed a chitooligosaccharide (COS)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite film that incorporates human gut-derived postbiotics. Postbiotics obtained from a human gut-derived Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus strain exhibited a favorable safety profile and effective antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Postbiotics were readily incorporated into the COS/PVA matrix through a simple casting and crosslinking process, yielding composite films with favorable physicochemical properties, biocompatibility, and functional performance. The resulting films exhibited pronounced antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The practical applicability of the developed films was evaluated using refrigerated salmon as a model food system. Salmon packaged in postbiotic-containing COS/PVA films exhibited significantly delayed microbial growth and reduced lipid oxidation and protein degradation during storage, resulting in improved preservation of quality. These preservation effects were attributed to the combined antibacterial and antioxidant functions of the postbiotics retained within the solidfilm matrix. Overall, this study suggested that human gut-derived postbiotics can be effectively integrated into COS/PVA-based composite films to create multifunctional active packaging materials. The proposed approach provides a traceable, stable, and safe alternative to live microorganisms, and expands the potential for the application of solid polymeric films in food packaging.

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