Novel natural phenolic compound-based oxygen scavenging system for active packaging applications

An oxygen scavenging system containing a natural phenolic compound, pyrogallol with sodium carbonate, was developed and analyzed as a possible oxygen scavenger. The effect of several parameters, including the amount of pyrogallol and sodium carbonate, relative humidity and storage temperature, on the oxygen scavenging capability were investigated. The initial, glass vial headspace oxygen content (%) of 21.1 % (v/v) decreased to 0.26 % after 8 days of storage at room temperature when the oxygen scavenging system used a 1:1 (w/w) ratio of pyrogallol (250 mg) and sodium carbonate (250 mg). Both pyrogallol and sodium carbonate were required for optimum oxygen scavenging, otherwise the oxygen scavenging ability decreased. The oxygen content (%) decreased further to 6.55 % (v/v) when the amount of sodium carbonate decreased from 250 to 166 mg, which yielded a 2:1 ratio. In the present study, pyrogallol (250 mg) and sodium carbonate (250 mg) had highest oxygen scavenging capacity of 51.81 mL O2/g and an oxygen scavenging rate of 6.48 mL O2/g day. The oxygen absorption kinetics rate of pyrogallol and sodium carbonate confirmed that the material has good efficiency for use as an oxygen scavenger. Results indicated that the pyrogallol based oxygen scavenging system with moisture activation can be used as an effective oxygen scavenger for low water activity food packaging applications.