Antioxydant-polysaccharide conjugates for food application by eco-friendly grafting procedure

In the present study, catechin–alginate and catechin–inulin conjugates were obtained by adopting freeradical-induced grafting procedure. In the aim to synthesize the antioxidant–polysaccharide conjugates,ascorbic acid/hydrogen peroxide redox pair was employed as water-soluble and biocompatible initiatorsystem. The insertion of catechin onto the polymeric backbones was verified by performing FT-IR, DSCand fluorescence analyses and molecular weight distributions were analyzed by GPC. Finally, the antioxidantproperties of the obtained conjugates were evaluated and compared with that of blank alginate and blank inulin, treated in the same conditions but in absence of catechin. The good antioxidant activityshowed by functionalized materials confirmed the efficiency of the adopted reaction method to impartpeculiar characteristics to macromolecules of natural origin for specific industrial applications. This kindof systems, indeed, could be very useful in the optimization of food preservation and to help manufacturers in elaboration of new food products and packaging.