Preparation and Characterization of Okra Mucilage ( Abelmoschus esculentus) Edible Films.

Okra ( Abelmoschus esculentus) is a perishable fruit with an extremely short post-harvesting period. In the present study we have investigated the development of edible films obtained from mucilage of rejected okra fruits. The obtained okra mucilage was characterized by FTIR, percentage yield, swelling index in water, percentage solubility in water, XRD, TGA and DSC. The TGA curve has showed that okra mucilage has good thermal stability and low moisture content, which was demonstrated by the low initial mass loss. Edible films were prepared with two mucilage concentrations (1% and 1.5% w/v) combined with three plasticizer contents (PEG-200), 0.25%, 0.50% and 0.75% v/v. The produced films were evaluated for their wettability, folding endurance, water solubility and color analysis of L*a*b color parameters. All analyses have demonstrated that plasticizer plays a key role in the system. The results obtained indicated that okra mucilage has potential to be used as edible film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]