Valorization of Garcinia humilis Residues in Active Collagen/Starch Films for Biodegradable Packaging Applications

This study developed and characterized biodegradable films of collagen and starch of sweet potato incorporated with phenolic extract of Garcinia humilis residue extract (GHRE), aiming at their application as active packaging. GHRE showed a high content of total phenolics (543.69 mg GAE/g), with outstanding antioxidant activity (DPPH: 22.00 μmol TE/g, ABTS: 31.33 μmol TE/g, FRAP: 11.24 mmol FeSO₄/g), in addition to the identification of 18 phenolic compounds, with procyanidin A2 being the major compound. The films with 1.5% GHRE showed better appearance, greater elasticity and lower permeability to water vapour (2.09 × 10 −8 gH₂O.mm/m 2 .h.MPa), which favours moisture‐sensitive foods. The FTIR and XRD analyses revealed that the incorporation of GHRE promoted intermolecular interactions without altering the semicrystalline structure of the films. Thermal stability increased with GHRE addition, whereas film luminosity decreased. In addition, these films demonstrated accelerated biodegradability (> 96% in 30 days), indicating strong potential for sustainability applications. These results confirm the potential of GHRE as a functional additive in antioxidant and biodegradable active packaging.