Journal of Cereal Science 51 (2010) 213–219

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Journal of Cereal Science

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Biodegradable films based on rice starch and rice flour

Amanda B. Dias, Carmen M.O. Müller, Fábio D.S. Larotonda, João B. Laurindo*
Federal University of Santa Catarina, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, PO Box 476, Florianopolis-SC, Brazil, 88040-900

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Rice flour is a starchy material with low-cost, because it can be produced from rice that is broken during
Received 31 July 2009 processing. The aim of this study was to develop biodegradable films based on rice starch and rice flour,
Received in revised form and to characterize their physicochemical, microscopic and mechanical properties. Films from rice starch
19 November 2009
and rice flour were prepared by casting, with glycerol or sorbitol as plasticizer. SEM analysis of starch and
Accepted 28 November 2009
flour films revealed compact structures. Rice flour films prepared in the present work have similar
mechanical properties to those of starch based films. However, their water vapor permeabilities are two
Keywords:
times higher than those of starch based films. Films with sorbitol were less permeable to water and more
Rice
Starch rigid, while films with glycerol are more plasticized and have poorer water vapor barrier properties.
Flour Therefore, preparing edible films from rice flour is a new alternative for using this raw material, which is
Films sometimes much cheaper than commercial starches.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction combining polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids is due to the

One of the matters of great concern nowadays is the environ-
mental impact caused by the excessive quantity of non-degradable
waste materials discarded every day. This reality has been stimu-
lating research to develop new biodegradable packaging materials
that could be considered environmentally friendly raw materials
(Avérous et al., 2001). Among these materials, the ones derived
from renewable resources, which participate in the carbon cycle,
has received more attention since they combine environmental
benefits and sustainability.
The production of biodegradable and edible films from carbo-
hydrates and proteins adds value to low-cost raw materials and can
play an important role in food preservation (Avérous et al., 2001;
Krochta and Miller, 1997; among others). Several studies reported
the use of starches from different sources to prepare films and
coatings with different properties, and have indicated that these
carbohydrates are promising materials in this regard (Avérous et al.,
2001; Larotonda et al., 2005; Mali et al., 2005).
Few studies have reported in the last decade about the use of
flour as raw materials suitable for preparing films. The interest in
advantages and disadvantages of these components (Baldwin et al.,
1995). The use of natural blends of protein, polysaccharides, and
lipids directly obtained from agricultural sources takes advantage
of each component in the original system and appears to be a new
opportunity for material in the area of edible films (Tapia-Blácido
et al., 2005). Rayas and Hernández (1997) prepared edible films
from three types of wheat flours, and more recently, Mariniello
et al. (2003) used whole soy flour and apple pectin, Tapia-Blácido
et al. (2005) and Colla et al. (2006) used amaranth flour as the raw
materials for producing edible films.
Rice flour can be considered such a natural mixture and
consequently a suitable raw material for preparing edible or
biodegradable films. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the principal staple
food for half the world’s population (Hagenimana et al., 2006).
Starch is the major chemical component of cereal grains,
comprising around 90% of the dry weight of rice grain. Protein and
lipid contents are also significant, being about 6.5% and 0.8%,
respectively (Zhou et al., 2002). The aim of this work was to prepare
films based on rice starch and rice flour and compare their physi-
cochemical, microscopic and mechanical properties.

2. Materials and methods

Abbreviations: aw, water activity; b, solubility coefficient of water in the film (g
water/g dry solid.Pa); Dw, diffusion coefficient of water in the film (m2/s); 3, elon- 2.1. Materials
gation at break (%); GAB model, Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer model; Kw, water
vapor permeability (g/h.m.Pa); rS, density (g/cm3); SEM, scanning electron
microscopy; T, tensile strength (MPa); Y, Young modulus (MPa).
Rice starch was extracted from grains of white rice O. sativa by the
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ55 48 37215229; fax: þ55 48 37219687. alkaline method proposed by Yamamoto et al. (1973), customized by
E-mail address: joao@enq.ufsc.br (J.B. Laurindo). Lumdubwong and Seib (2000). Rice flour (Amitec A-100) was

0733-5210/$ – see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jcs.2009.11.014
214 A.B. Dias et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 51 (2010) 213–219
provided by the company Josapar S.A. (Pelotas, RS, Brazil). Glycerol
and sorbitol were purchased from Nuclear (São Paulo, Brazil).
Chemical analyses were performed to determine the chemical
composition of the starch extracted from rice and for the rice flour.
The methodologies used were: a) Kjeldahl method for determining
protein content, using the value 6.25 as the nitrogen-to-protein
conversion factor (AOAC, 1996); b) to determine the lipid content,
Soxhlet extraction method was used for lipid content determina-
tion, with petroleum ether as solvent (boiling point 40–60  C) and
the minimum extraction time of 36 hours (AOAC, 1996); c) dry
incineration method at 550  C to determine the ash content (AOAC,
1996); d) oven desiccation at 105  2  C to determine the moisture
(AOAC, 1996); e) carbohydrates content was determined by differ-
ence, from the contents of the others components.
2.2. Film preparation
Rice starch and rice flour films were prepared by a casting
technique. Glycerol and sorbitol were used as plasticizers at
concentrations of 0.20 and 0.30 g/g dry raw material (starch or
flour). Aqueous solutions containing 5% of raw material (starch or
flour) were prepared and stirred for 15 min at 4000 rpm. Plasticizer
was added to the aqueous solution and the mixture was heated to
85  C in a thermal bath under constant stirring during 1 h to
promote the starch gelatinization, and poured homogeneously onto
plexiglass plates and dried at 30  C for 14 h in an oven with
circulating air. For preparation of rice flour films, the pH of the
aqueous solution was adjusted to 10.0 with NaOH solution (0.1 N),
in order to promote protein solubilization. Films plasticized with
glycerol were codified as SG (starch based films) and FG (flour
based films), and the ones plasticized with sorbitol were codified as
SS (starch based films) and FS (flour based films), followed by the
corresponding amount of plasticizer. For example, SG20 and FS30
were the formulations with rice starch film with 0.20 g glycerol/g
starch and rice flour film with 0.30 g sorbitol/g flour, respectively.
2.3. Film characterization
2.3.1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of film samples was
obtained using a Philips XL-30 scanning electron microscope. The
samples were coated with a fine gold layer before obtaining the
micrographs. All samples were examined using an accelerating
voltage of 10 kV. Micrographs of drying exposed surface and frac-
ture (cryofracture) of films plasticized with 0.3 g of plasticizer/g of
raw material were carried out.
2 3
1

Ckm0 6
6 ð1  kaw Þð1  kaw þ Ckaw Þ
b¼ aw
ps 4 ½  kð1  kaw þ Ckaw Þ þ ð1  kaw Þðk þ CkÞ
2
ð1  kaw Þð1  kaw þ Ckaw Þ
2.3.2. Density
Prior to film properties determination, samples were condi-
tioned at 25  C and 58% relative humidity (RH) for 48 h. Films
thicknesses were measured (exactness of 0.001 mm) using
a Digimatic digital external micrometer (Mitutoyo Co., Japan) at ten
different points of the film. For determining film density, samples of
2  2 cm were maintained in a desiccator with phosphorus pent-
oxide (0% RH) for 20 days and weighed. Thus, dry matter densities
were calculated by Eq. (1).
S m
r ¼
Ad
where A is the film area (4 cm2), d the film thickness (cm), m the
film dry mass (g) and rS the dry matter density of the film (g/cm3)
(Larotonda et al., 2005). The film density was expressed as the
average of ten determinations.
2.3.3. Moisture sorption isotherms
Film moisture sorption isotherms were determined at 25  C by
the static method, using saturated saline solutions to obtain
different relative humidities (Bell and Labuza, 2000). The Gug-
genheim–Anderson–de Boer (GAB) model (Eq. (2)) was used to
represent the experimental equilibrium data. In this equation, the
parameter Xw is the equilibrium moisture (g water/g dry mass), m0
is the monolayer water content, C is the Guggenheim constant,
which represents the sorption heat of the first layer and k is the
sorption heat of the multilayers. GAB model parameters were
determined by non-linear regression, using Statistica Software 6.0
(Statsoft, USA).
Ckm0 aw
XW ¼ (2)
ð1  kaw Þð1  kaw þ Ckaw Þ
2.3.4. Water vapor permeability (Kw)
Film water vapor permeabilities (Kw) were determined in
appropriate diffusion cells (Sarantópoulos et al., 2002), using
a relative humidity gradient of 2–75%. Water vapor permeability
was determined using Eq. (3).
Wd
Kw ¼ (3)
Sps ðaw1  aw2 Þ
where d is the average film thickness, S is the film permeation area
(0.005 m2), aw1 (75%) is the water activity in the chamber, aw2 (2%)
is the water activity inside the cell, ps is the water vapor pressure at
the experimental system temperature (25  C) and W ¼ G/t (g of
water/hour) was calculated using the linear regression of mass
variation over time, under steady state permeation condition.
2.3.5. Solubility (b) and diffusion (Dw) coefficients of water in the
films
The solubility coefficients of water in the films (b) were deter-
mined according to Larotonda et al. (2005), by the first derivative of
the film’s moisture sorption isotherm (GAB model) in relation to
the water activity (aw), divided by the water vapor pressure, ps, at
the sorption isotherm temperature. Physically, the coefficient b is
the partition coefficient of water between air and film, and is given
by Eq. (4).
7
7
(4)
5
where C, m0 and k are the adjust parameters of the GAB model and
b is given in g of water/g of dry solid  Pa.
The water diffusion coefficients through the films (Dw) can be
determined from water vapor permeability (Kw), solubility coeffi-
cient of water in the film (b) and density of the film (rS) (Eq. (5)).
K w ¼ rS bDw (5)
Comparing Eq. (3) with Eq. (5), Dw can be given by Eq. (6). As
b varies with aw, the b values corresponding to aw2 ¼ 0.02 and to
(1)
aw1 ¼ 0.75 are calculated by Eq. (4).
 A.B. Dias et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 51 (2010) 213–219 215

Fig. 1. SEM Micrographs of film surfaces and fractures: (a) and (b) rice starch film plasticized with glycerol (SG30) (0.3 g glycerol/g dry starch); (c) and (d) rice starch film plasticized
with sorbitol (SS30) (0.3 g sorbitol/g dry starch); (e) and (f) rice flour film plasticized with glycerol (FG30) (0.3 g glycerol/g dry flour); (g) and (h) rice flour film plasticized with
sorbitol (FS30) (0.3 g sorbitol/g dry flour).

extension at 0.8 mm/s, with an initial distance between the grips of

Wd
Dw ¼
rS Sps ðb1 aw1  b2 aw2 Þ
2.3.6. Mechanical properties
Mechanical tests were carried out using a TA-XT2i texture analyzer
(Surrey – England). The dimensions of film samples used in tests were
25 mm  100 mm, cut with sharp scissors. Prior to mechanical tests,
samples were conditioned at 25  C and 58% RH for 72 h.
Tensile strength (T), elongation at break (3) and Young modulus
(Y) were determined from ten replicates for each film formulation
in accordance with ASTM-882-00 (2000). Samples were clamped
between grips and force and deformation were recorded during
50 mm.
(6)
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Chemical analysis
Chemical analysis showed that rice flour is a rich source of
carbohydrates and is composed of 7.74% of proteins, 0.87% of lipids,
0.72% of ash, 6.10% of moisture and 90.67% of carbohydrates. Rice
starch extracted in this study was composed of 0.68% of proteins,
0.35% of ash, 5.60% of moisture and 98.97% of carbohydrates. Starch
extracted from rice reached a purity of 99%, with only 0.68% of
216 A.B. Dias et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 51 (2010) 213–219

Table 1
Density values determined for the film samples and GAB model parameters for moisture sorption isotherms for the rice starch films and rice flour films plasticized with
glycerol and sorbitol (r2 is the correlation coefficient).

Sample Density (g/cm3) m0 (g water/g dry solid) k C r2

a bc ab a
SG20 1.30  0.10 0.12  0.02 0.85  0.02 1.42  0.20 >0.99
SG30 1.36  0.11a 0.16  0.01c 0.87  0.01b 1.70  0.34a >0.99
SS20 1.17  0.06a 0.07  0.00a 0.87  0.01b 4.12  0.61a >0.99
SS30 1.40  0.17a 0.11  0.01ab 0.82  0.02a 1.31  0.22a >0.99
FG20 1.24  0.08a 0.10  0.01ab 0.89  0.01b 1.93  0.55a >0.99
FG30 1.25  0.06a 0.15  0.00ab 0.86  0.01b 2.50  0.66b >0.99
FS20 1.13  0.08a 0.08  0.01a 0.87  0.03ab 2.45  0.81a >0.99
FS30 1.24  0.07a 0.07  0.01a 0.92  0.01c 3.98  2.02a >0.99

Values with the same letter at the same column are not different statistically (p < 0.05) by the Tukey test.

protein content. It can be observed that rice flour is a product rich in
carbohydrates (90% dry basis), composed mostly by starch, and
with a significant presence of protein (around 7–8% in dry basis of
rice flour). These proteins influenced the films’ properties, which
are observed by comparing starch films and rice flour films, as
discussed in the following.
3.2. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
Scanning electron microscopy surfaces and fractures of film
samples are presented in Fig. 1. Micrographs of the film surfaces, at
a magnification of 200, did not show differences between the
films plasticized with glycerol and sorbitol. Both glycerol and
sorbitol have the same plasticizing mechanism and are small
molecules if compared with amylose–amylopectin chains. Martelli
et al. (2006) found important differences among the surfaces of
keratin films plasticized with glycerol, sorbitol and PEG4000 using
a magnification of 2000 and 3000. These higher magnification
levels cannot be used for starch films, because it can degrade them.
On the other hand, the surfaces of films prepared with rice flour
were more irregular than those of films prepared with rice starch.
For flour base films, the presence of insoluble particles was
observed. The irregularities in the surface of rice flour films may be
related to the presence of more than one macromolecule in the
polymeric matrix (starch, protein and lipid).
Fracture micrographs (Fig. 1b, d, f, h) showed homogeneity of
rice starch films and of rice flour film sections. Considering that rice
flour films are composed of starch, protein and lipid in different
amounts, starch being the major component, it can be concluded
that the dense areas of the polymeric matrix are composed of
starch. The homogeneous matrix of these films is a good indicator
of their structural integrity, and consequently good mechanical
properties would be expected (Mali et al., 2002).
3.3. Density
There were no significant differences among the densities of
film samples at the 5% significance level by the Tukey test
(p < 0.05). The presence of proteins and lipids in the rice flour films
did not affect density when compared with the rice starch films.
The type of plasticizer did not influence film density (Table 1).
These results can be explained by the high concentration of starch
in the films, and also because the molecular packing is similar for all
films.
Density values obtained in this work were similar to the values
found by Moraes (2009) who reported density values around
1.35 g/cm3 for films composed of 3% of cassava starch. Famá et al.
(2009) obtained density values around 1.38 g/cm3 for cassava
starch films and cassava starch-wheat bran composites. Moore et al.
(2006) reported density values ranging from 0.92 g/cm3 to 1.10 g/
cm3 for keratin films, for different glycerol concentrations.
3.4. Moisture sorption isotherms
Experimental data for moisture sorption isotherms of rice starch
films and rice flour films plasticized with glycerol and sorbitol are
presented in Fig. 2, together with the GAB model fitted for each
sample. The GAB model parameters and correlation coefficients are
presented in Table 1. The values of k (<1) and the correlation
coefficient (r2>0.98) showed that the GAB equation is an adequate
equation for fitting experimental data for starchy films, as previ-
ously reported by other authors (Mali et al., 2005; among others).
Rice flour films and rice starch films plasticized with the same
concentration of glycerol presented similar equilibrium moisture
(Fig. 2a). Films plasticized with sorbitol presented lower equilib-
rium moistures when compared with the films plasticized with
glycerol. This behavior has been observed by other authors (Mali
et al., 2005; Müller et al., 2008; among others). According to these
authors, glycerol and sorbitol have similar structures because they
are both straight-chain molecules. However, the glycerol molecule
presents higher water affinity, demonstrated by absorption
isotherms reported in the literature (Leung, 1986). Moreover, since
sorbitol is more similar to the molecular structure of glucose units
than glycerol, the chances of sorbitol to interact with polymeric
starch chains are higher, thus sorbitol-containing films present
higher intermolecular forces and show lower capacity to interact
with water. Films prepared with rice starch and rice flour presented
similar water sorption isotherms, even for different sorbitol
concentrations (0.20 or 0.30 g/g raw material). Data presented in
Table 1 showed that plasticizer content did not have a significant
influence on the monolayer water content (m0) for each kind of
film. Rice starch films plasticized with glycerol gave the highest
values for monolayer moisture. The parameter k is the corrective
constant taking into account properties of multilayer molecules.
In this work, films gave values of k around 0.87, similar to the
values reported by Coupland et al. (2000) for whey protein films.
Müller et al. (2008) related a small variation in the parameter k
when using glycerol and sorbitol at different concentrations in
cassava starch films. The parameter C (Guggenheim constant) gave
important variations. This parameter is related to the first curvature
of the GAB model, with reduced values of water activity, where the
experimental equilibrium moistures showed higher deviations
3.5. Influence of the solubility coefficient (b) and the diffusion
coefficient (Dw) of water in the films on the water vapor
permeabilities (Kw)
Since an important function of a food packaging is to avoid or at
least to decrease moisture transfer between the food and the
surrounding atmosphere, film water vapor permeability should be
as low as possible (Gontard et al., 1992). Water vapor permeabilities
(Kw) are presented in Table 2. Kw values ranged from 9.6  108 g
water/h.m.Pa, for the rice starch films plasticized with 0.2 g
 A.B. Dias et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 51 (2010) 213–219 217

a 1.0
SG20
SG30
FG20
0.8 FG30

(g water / g dry solid)

0.6

0.4

W
X
0.2

0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
aw

b 1.0
SS20
SS30
FS20
(g water / g dry solid)

0.8 FS30

0.6

0.4
W
X

0.2

0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
aw

Fig. 2. Experimental data of moisture sorption isotherms of film samples fitted with the GAB model: (a) films of rice starch and rice flour plasticized with glycerol; (b) films of rice
starch and rice flour plasticized with sorbitol (symbols are the experimental data and lines are the GAB fitted curves).

sorbitol/g dry starch (SS20) to 63.6  108 g water/h.m.Pa, for the
rice flour films plasticized with 0.3 g glycerol/g dry flour (FG30).
The increase of glycerol content increases the water vapor perme-
ation through the films, as has been reported in the literature for
other hydrophilic films (Cuq et al., 1997; Laohakunjit and Noom-
horm, 2004; Mali et al., 2002; Müller et al., 2008). The behavior
found for starch films can be explained by the increase of film
hygroscopicity, represented by their higher solubility coefficients
(b). When the glycerol concentration was increased from 20 to 30 g
of glycerol/100 g of dry raw material, the b values increased by
about 40%. The results reported in Table 2 did not show important
differences between the diffusion coefficients of starch films
prepared with 20–30 g of glycerol/100 g of dry raw material. On the
other hand, the higher water vapor permeabilities found for flour
based films can be explained by their more open structure, repre-
sented by the higher diffusion coefficients.
Laohakunjit and Noomhorm (2004) determined the water vapor
permeability of rice starch films prepared by casting, plasticized
with 0.30 g glycerol/g dry starch. They reported values of Kw almost
four times higher than those values found for similar films in the
present work. For films plasticized with sorbitol, the same authors
found a Kw of 90.9  108 g/h.m.Pa, eight times higher than the
value of Kw obtained in this work (10.9  108 g/h.m.Pa). It is
important to note that Laohakunjit and Noomhorm used a higher

Table 2
Water vapor permeability (Kw), solubility coefficient (b) and diffusivity (Dw) of water in the films for rice starch and rice flour films.

Samples Kw  108 b2 (aw2 ¼ 0.02)  105 b2  aw2  ps b1 (aw1 ¼ 0.75)  105 b1  aw1  ps ps(b1  aw1–b2  aw2) Dw  1013
(g/h.m.Pa) (g water/g dry solid.Pa) (g water/g dry solid) (g water/g dry solid.Pa) (g water/g dry solid) (g water/g dry solid) (m2/s)
SG20 16.7  2.5a 4.8 0.0030 25.7 0.6067 0.6037 1.4
SG30 31.2  0.8b 7.6 0.0048 37.6 0.8877 0.8829 1.7
SS20 9.6  0.4a 7.3 0.0046 16.3 0.3848 0.3802 1.3
SS30 10.9  1.3a 3.9 0.0024 20.4 0.4816 0.4791 1.2
FG20 41.0  3.6c 5.6 0.0035 27.6 0.6516 0.6480 3.6
FG30 63.6  6.1d 10.4 0.0065 35.9 0.8475 0.8410 6.6
FS20 12.6  0.5a 5.2 0.0033 18.8 0.4438 0.4406 1.6
FS30 13.9  0.1a 7.0 0.0044 19.8 0.4674 0.4630 1.5

Values with the same letter at the same column are not different statistically (p < 0.05) by the Tukey test.
218 A.B. Dias et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 51 (2010) 213–219

280
260 SG20
SG30
240

β x 105 (g water / g dry solid . pa)

FG20
220 FG30
200 SS20
SS30
180
FS20
160 FS30
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
aw

Fig. 3. Solubility coefficient values (b) for rice starch films and rice flour films plasticized with glycerol and with sorbitol.

relative humidity gradient, 0–90% RH to determine Kw while, in this Kw values were not significantly affected by the plasticizer
work, the RH gradient was 2–75%. However, the much higher content in the films plasticized with sorbitol, neither for starch
values of permeability of these films seem to be associated with based films nor for flour based films.
their porous and irregular microstructure observed by the cited
authors from SEM micrographs.
3.6. Mechanical properties
Fig. 3 illustrates the behavior of the solubility coefficients (b) of
water in the films, showing that the values of this coefficient
The results for tensile strength (T), elongation at break (3) and
strongly depend on the range of the air relative humidity (water
Young modulus (Y) for all film samples are presented in Table 3. The
activity of the film). Although few works had investigated the
addition of higher contents of plasticizer increased the films’
influence of this coefficient in the water vapor permeability of
elongation capacity and decreased their tensile strength, as
starch and protein based films (Moore et al., 2006; Müller et al.,
expected. Film samples plasticized with glycerol showed lower
2008), the behavior of this coefficient is determinant in the water
tensile strength than films plasticized with sorbitol with the same
permeation processes, as discussed in the following.
plasticizer content, for both starch and flour based films. This
For films prepared with the same material (rice starch or rice
behavior can be associated with the molecular structure of glycerol,
flour), the values of Kw were increased by about 50–80% when the
which possesses a small chain, more able to enter into the poly-
glycerol changed from 0.20 to 0.30 g glycerol/g raw material. Values
meric net (Cuq et al., 1997). The smaller size of glycerol and its
of b1 (related to aw1 ¼ 0.75) and b2 (related to aw2 ¼ 0.02) for all the
greater amount of related water increase its effectiveness as
film samples are also presented in Table 2. The driving force that
a plasticizer, and contributed more plasticization effect than
causes water transfer in the film is given by the side-to-side
sorbitol at equivalent mass content. Ryu et al. (2002) observed the
moisture difference, i.e., ps(b1  aw1  b2  aw2), given in g water/g
same behavior for high amylose corn starch films.
dry solid. The comparison between the values of b1  aw1 and
Tensile strain values of rice starch films were higher than the
b2  aw2 shows that the higher RH determines the driving force that
values found for rice flour films. This result can be explained by
causes mass transfer through the film. Inside the diffusion cell,
both the existence of irregularities at the microstructure level, and
where RH ¼ 0.02, the films’ surface moistures ranged from about
the presence of lipids in the flour, because lipids are unable to form
0.025 to 0.065 g water/g dry solid, while outside the cell, where
a cohesive and continuous matrix, according Péroval et al. (2002).
RH ¼ 75%, the film’s surface moistures ranged from about 0.38 to
0.89 g water/g dry solid. The comparison of samples SG20 and SG30
data shows that the increase of Kw was caused partially by the Table 3
increase of the diffusion coefficient, Dw (that depends on the film Films’ mechanical properties.
structure), but mainly by the increase of the solubility coefficient b1 Samples Tensile strength Elongation at break Young Modulus
(that depends on the film hygroscopicity). The same reasoning can (MPa) (%) (MPa)
be used to explain the Kw increase for samples FG20 and FG30. SG20 10.9  1.2c 2.8  0.7a 532.8  115.6c
On the other hand, for the same glycerol concentration, rice SG30 1.6  0.2a 59.8  9.9b 21.3  5.0a
flour films gave values of Kw two times higher than the rice starch SS20 22.3  1.9e 2.8  0.7a 1052.6  146.0e
SS30 11.2  1.0c 3.9  1.9a 456.3  81.0c
films. The comparison of the values of Dw and b1 for samples SG20
FG20 10.3  1.0c 2.7  0.5a 560.7  64.3c
and FG20 and for samples SG30 and FG30 shows that the much FG30 1.3  0.1a 66.4  8.5b 22.2  6.0a
higher values of the diffusion coefficients can explain the increase FS20 15.0  2.9d 2.2  0.4a 816.0  116.7d
of Kw. The higher values of Dw can be explained by the more FS30 7.2  1.5b 4.3  0.3a 248.6  54.7b
irregular structure of flour based films, as reported by Martin-Polo Values with the same letter at the same column are not different statistically
et al. (1992). (p < 0.05) by the Tukey test.
 A.B. Dias et al. / Journal of Cereal Science 51 (2010) 213–219
Films of starch and flour with 0.2 g plasticizer/g raw material
showed low values of strain at break (3 ¼ 2.2–2.8%), and presented
higher tensile strength values. Tensile strength was more influ-
enced by plasticizer content in films plasticized with glycerol than
in films plasticized with sorbitol.
Higher values of Young modulus (Table 3) were found for films
with lower plasticizer content, which is in agreement with results
that have been reported in the literature (Lourdin et al., 1997; Mali
et al., 2005, among others). On the other hand, films plasticized
with sorbitol were more rigid than the films plasticized with
glycerol at the same concentration, behavior that has been also
reported by other authors (Mali et al., 2005; Müller et al., 2008,
among others).
It is important to note that all film samples were conditioned at
58% RH before the mechanical tests. It was observed that the
equilibrium moisture of the film FG30 (0.20 g water/g dry solids)
was higher than the moisture of the film FS30 (0.12 g water/g dry
solid). As water is a powerful plasticizer in starchy and protein rich
materials, films with glycerol are also plasticized by water, due to
their higher moisture, explaining their lower tensile strength and
lower Young modulus, and also their higher elongation capacities.
4. Conclusions
Rice flour films prepared in the present work have similar
mechanical properties to those of starch based films. However,
their water vapor permeabilities are two times higher than those of
starch based films, when both are prepared with glycerol. Films
with sorbitol are less permeable to water and more rigid, while
films with glycerol are more plasticized and have poorer water
vapor barrier properties. The selection of the plasticizer depends on
the specific application. The presence of lipids in the rice flour does
not cause important changes in film hygroscopicity (similar water
sorption isotherms). From the results presented in this work, it is
clear that the permeabilities are controlled mainly by plasticizer
concentration. In fact, both starch and flour films present poor
water vapor barrier and are not indicated for packaging low
moisture food, for example. In other words, the higher permeability
of flour films is not a big problem, and flour is a good raw material
to prepare edible films. On the other hand, preparing edible films
from rice flour is a new alternative for using this raw material,
which is sometimes much cheaper than commercial starches.
New studies are necessary to better understand how proteins,
lipids and starch interact in the film polymeric matrix and to find
correct procedures to prepare more homogeneous films. The use of
reinforcing fibers is a good alternative to improve film mechanical
properties and water sensibility, but will be the subject of a further
paper.
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