Edible, Antioxiadant Films from Ultrasonically Extracted Plantago psyllium Seed Husk Flour Mucilage

In this study ultrasonic assisted extraction was applied to obtain film forming mucilage from Plantago psyllium seed husk flour. The ultrasonically extracted material was plasticized with 25 and 50 wt% glycerol and casted into films. The films were characterized by their surface morphological properties (with scanning electron and atomic force microscopy), physical, thermal and tensile properties, their wettability, water vapor absorption, water vapor permeability, swelling and solubility and their antioxidant capacity (with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay). According to the results, the ultrasonic assisted extraction provided high yields of mucilage separation with low viscosity which enabled easy film casting. Flexible films were produced with the presence of glycerol. The films showed different swelling properties which was followed by complete dissolution in distilled water regardless of the glycerol content. Both the plasticized and unplasticized films showed free radical scavenging activity, indicating their usability as active, antioxidant films or coatings for the food packaging industry.