Optimization and characterization of biodegradable trays made with potato starch, arracacha, and lucuma seed

Mori-Vigo S.; Quispe-Sanchez L.; Oblitas-Delgado R.; Hernandez-Diaz E.; Chicana F.; Medina D.; Yoplac I.; Quispe-Sanchez W.; Sopán-Benaute C.; Oliva-Cruz M. · Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications (2026) · DOI: 10.1016/j.carpta.2026.101234

Resumen

Single-use plastic trays remain a major source of food-packaging waste, prompting growing interest in starch-based alternatives derived from residual raw materials. Here, biodegradable trays were developed from arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza), potato (Solanum tuberosum), and lucuma seed (Pouteria lucuma) starches using a simplex lattice mixture design, yielding an optimal formulation of 90.2% lucuma and 9.8% potato starch (desirability = 0.880) with a solubility of 13.08 ± 0.93%, elongation at break of 1.42 ± 0.45%, tensile strength of 1.61 ± 0.26 MPa, and Young's modulus of 120.98 ± 5.26 MPa. Relative to a 100% potato starch control, this formulation was mechanically stronger and stiffer, more structurally compact, and a better oxygen barrier, though it allowed slightly more water vapor to pass through (1.19 × 10⁻⁵ vs. 8.93 × 10⁻⁶ g·m⁻¹·h⁻¹·Pa⁻¹). All three native starches shared a type B crystalline pattern, and FT-IR confirmed that hydroxyl, glycosidic, and C–O–C functional groups remained intact after thermoforming. Lucuma seed also carried over antioxidant activity into the finished tray (24.54% DPPH inhibition, 23.93 mg GAE/g total phenolics) and made it noticeably more stable under microwave reheating, with less weight loss and color change than the control. Migration into aqueous and acidic food simulants, assessed by UV absorbance at 280 nm, remained below the detection limit, although fatty food simulants were not evaluated and buried trays lost up to 56% of their mass within 32 days without harming Lactuca sativa germination. These results position lucuma seed starch as a promising functional component for biodegradable food trays, though better mechanical performance, moisture resistance, and testing under real packaging conditions are still needed before the material is ready for commercial use.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Trujillo; Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas