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Active food packaging is currently of high demand in food industries to provide protections to food. Food packaging is not only used to store and protect food from the environment, but also to provide functional values with the incorporation of active agent. Essential oils (EOs) extracted from a variety of plants represent active ingredients of natural origin which provide numerous benefits to food, aromatherapy, pharmaceutical, and food packaging industries due to their functional properties. Numerous researches have been carried out in developing active food packaging such as insect repellent packaging containing essential oils. Insect repellent packaging could create safety measures by repelling insect from exterior environment or the inhibition of larvae from food within. In this paper, different application of EOs on different types of food packaging, applications, processing methods, migration of active compounds and performance of insect repellency are reviewed. Future perspectives and applications of insect repellence using safe, natural and more effective strategies are also discussed. EOs as the active insect repellent agents in food packaging offer great opportunities to protect the quality of food. Some important factors such as legislative concerns (e.g. toxicity test, migration of active substances from packaging materials), economics, and further study on the release period of active agent to the environment should be considered to successfully implement insect repellent agents in food packaging.

Lower barrier capability, renewable sources and inquiry on the mechanical strength of packaging material used will limit the market place for desired choices of packaging. Biocomposites have been called to enhance the packaging characteristics however the renewable sources of polymers have been questioned among industries worldwide. Up to authors' knowledge, most published reports have not covered all information regarding the issue in packaging and their information on detailed view in packaging material as well as its applications still scarce. This chapter reviews different perspective of packaging, especially on biocomposite production such as advantages, drawbacks, safety concern, and technological advancement. It also focuses on the topic of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and polylactic acid (PLA). The issue and future trend of versatile CNF and PLA biocomposites are also addressed in this chapter. The report highlighted in this chapter is of benefit to manufacturers and researchers on promising packaging in future.

The encapsulation of vitamin E using combined solution of maltodextrin and sodium caseinate by spray-drying technique was investigated. Spray drying is the most commonly used method in the food industry. The physical characterizations of the encapsulated vitamin E gave valuable information on the surface morphology, size, shape, solubility, and moisture content. The micrograph of the vitamin E microcapsules indicated that the feed composition affects the morphology of the product. The particle sizes measured were ranging from 13 to $$29~\upmu \hbox {m}$$ with moderate moisture contents (4.5–4.98%) and were not affected by the amount of oil and type of wall material used. The solubility test indicated that there is a relationship between the amount of maltodextrin in formulations and the solubility. The microcapsule was considered soluble since the solubility time was obtained from 178 to 251 s.

Background: In recent decades, there has been an increased interest in the utilization of polysaccharides showing biological activity for various novel applications owing to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and some specific therapeutic activities. Increasing studies have started in the past few years to develop algal polysaccharides-based biomaterials for various applications. Methods: Saccharide mapping or enzymatic profiling plays a role in quality control of polysaccharides. Whereby, in vitro and in vivo tests as well as toxicity level discriminating polysaccharides biological activities. Extraction and purification methods are performed in obtaining algal derived polysaccharides followed by chromatographic profiles of their active compounds, structural features, physicochemical properties, and reported biological activities. Results: Marine algae are capable of synthesizing Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and non-GAGs or GAG mimetics such as sulfated glycans. The cell walls of algae are rich in sulfated polysaccharides, including alginate, carrageenan, ulvan and fucoidan. These biopolymers are widely used algal-derived polysaccharides for biological and biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility and availability. They constitute biochemical compounds that have multi-functionalization, therapeutic potential and immunomodulatory abilities, making them promising bioactive products and biomaterials with a wide range of biomedical applications. Conclusion: Algal-derived polysaccharides with clearly elucidated compositions/structures, identified cellular activities, as well as desirable physical properties have shown the potential that may create new opportunities. They could be maximally exploited to serve as therapeutic tools such as immunoregulatory agents or drug delivery vehicles. Hence, novel strategies could be applied to tailor multi-functionalization of the polysaccharides from algal species with vast biomedical application potentials.

Rice bran is a byproduct of the milling process of paddy rice to produce refined rice. Rice bran oil (RBO) is a valuable domestic oil resource in many countries, its acceptability as an edible oil has been hampered because of its commonly high free fatty acid (FFA) content resulting from the high lipase activity of the bran. Depletion in nonrenewable sources, especially for petroleum diesel and fossil fuel, has alarmed the global community into looking for an alternative way to overcome this situation. One of the alternatives is using RBO as the source to produce biodiesel. This chapter highlights the properties of RBO, extraction of RBO, different processes in the production of biodiesel using RBO, and the characteristics of this oil that are suitable for biodiesel production. The future and challenges of biodiesel are also discussed at the end of the chapter.

Polysaccharide-based composites that are derived from natural sources have been extensively used especially in drug delivery systems and biomedical applications due to their multifunctional properties. These materials have been well recognized and are highly in demand due to their biochemical properties that have similarity to animal cell as well as human body. By all means, natural polysaccharide-based nanomaterials may offer a lot of biological recognitions, safe biocompatibility, bioavailability, as well as sustainability. In this chapter, the authors attempt to review recent works in developing polysaccharide-based composites with nanomaterials. Brief discussion on types of polysaccharide, methods to prepare polysaccharide nanocomposites, and their applications for drug delivery and biomedicine are also included.