Ata Aditya Wardana, Natalia Devi Ayu Restuti Mulyodarsono, R. Haryo Bimo Setiarto, Retno Wulandari, Zarlina Zainuddin, Francis Ngwane Nkede, Laras Putri Wigati, Fumina Tanaka, Fumihiko Tanaka, Retno Tri Astuti
Traditional packaging in Indonesia often uses leaves, with banana leaves favored for their cultural value, biodegradability, and flavor enhancement, however their lack of biofunctional properties limits preservation performance. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of various chitosan/Tween 80/cellulose nanocrystals/cinnamon/lemongrass essential oil coatings, and further assessed their efficacy in vivo using banana leaf-wrapped serabi, a representative Indonesian traditional food. Edible coating formulations were prepared using emulsions containing 0.5% CEO or LEO stabilized with either 0.05% nanocellulose or 0.3% Tween 80. Microbial activity showed that Pickering emulsified chitosan with cinnamon essential oil had the highest inhibition zone of 21.59 ± 0.2 mm on Escherichia coli, 14.27 ± 0.13 mm on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 19.21 ± 0.24 mm on Bacillus subtilis, and 27.42 ± 0.40 mm on Staphylococcus aureus. The coated banana leaf was able to maintain the shelf life of serabi up to 12 h according to the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) standard without providing differences with the control confirmed by the triangle test. This method offers a sustainable alternative technology that maintained consumer acceptance while supporting traditional eco-friendly packaging practices. Copyright © 2026 Wardana, Mulyodarsono, Setiarto, Wulandari, Zainuddin, Nkede, Wigati, Tanaka, Tanaka and Astuti.
Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia; Research Center for Applied Microbiology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong Science Center, West Java, Bogor, Indonesia; Research Center for Polymer Technology, National Agency for Research and Innovation, South Tangerang, Indonesia; Laboratory of Postharvest Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Fisheries Product Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, East Java, Malang, Indonesia
