Investigating the impact of active PHBV films on the nutritional quality of minimally processed apples

The aim of the study was to study the effect of an active film, a blend of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) with a derivative of ferulic acid known as bis-O-dihydroferuloyl-1,4-butanediol (BDF), on the quality decay kinetic of minimally processed apples. Due to its properties, BDF is a promising candidate to serve both as a non-toxic biobased plasticizer and as an active additive, simplifying formulation of active packaging. Molecular modelling studies were conducted to explore the interaction between polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and BDF molecule, with the aim of understanding the mechanism of inhibition. The apple slices packed in different treatments exhibited an increase in PPO activity; however, the samples packed in active films showed a significantly slower rate of PPO activity ( P < 0.05). Almost 50% of the ascorbic acid content degraded in the control samples (4.95–4.97 mg/100 g fruit weight (FW)) at d7 compared with the samples packaged in BDF-releasing films (5.81–6.1 mg/100 g FW) in which the degradation was only 30%. Using molecular modelling, it was observed that BDF (−6.3 kcal/mol) exhibited a stronger interaction with PPO than catechol (−4.5 kcal/mol) in the met and oxy states. BDF-releasing films showed superior preservative potential over the control as BDF competitively inhibits the PPO active site due to π–π stacking between the aromatic cycle of the BDF molecule and the PHE259 and hydrogen bonding with the active site. • Apples slices were packed with an antioxidant film based on PHBV and ferulic acid derivative (BDF). • The BDF release from the film reduce the apple PPO activities during storage. • The BDF concentration in the films influenced the decay kinetic of ascorbic acid. • BDF displayed a strong and stable interaction with PPO at the active sites.