Design of Gelatin Pouches for the Preservation of Flaxseed Oil during Storage

Flaxseed oil (FO) is composed mainly of polyunsaturated fatty acids that are very sensitive to oxidation induced by oxygen, temperature, and light. To overcome this problem, gelatin-based films containing glucose are crosslinked via the Maillard reaction (MR) at 120 °C and used for the conception of pouches in which the FO was packaged. The prepared pouches, as well as the oil alone, are incubated at 50 °C for 21 days. The results show that the peroxide index of the oil stored in the gelatin-based pouches is almost stable and decreases on the 21st day. The specific extinction coefficients prove a more pronounced degradation of the non-package oil (control). In addition, the results of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) test reveal higher values in the control, with a tendency to continuously increase up until the 21st day. However, the oil stored in the pouches reveals less TBARs content, decreasing with oxidation time. The non-heated glucose-supplemented pouches showed the best results, suggesting a moderate and gradual development of the MR at 50 °C. The application of pouches based on gelatin films seems to be an effective and interesting tool for protecting FO against lipid oxidation, acting as perfectly biodegradable and sustainable containers for small doses.