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Effect of Quercetin and Gallic Acid on the Microbial Degradation of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) Materials

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Abstract

Compounds of plant origin are used in biodegradable polymers as stabilizers and functional additives. However, these substances often have a biological activity (antimicrobial) that can affect the biodegradability of these polymers. The objective of this work is to study the effect of two polyphenols, quercetin and gallic acid on the biodegradability of the natural polyester poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV). The biodegradation of the materials was evaluated in pure liquid culture media in the presence of the PHBV-degrading bacterium Streptomyces exfoliatus, and also by a respirometric test in compost. The bacterial inhibition was demonstrated from the second and fourth month of incubation in the presence of quercetin and gallic acid, respectively. This was confirmed by optical microscopic observations of the bacterial cells (showing the disappearance of the bacterial filament network) and scanning electron microscopy analysis (showing no structural change on the surface of the additivated films). However, all the films produced were considered fully biodegradable, according to the specification standard NF T51-800, leading to the conclusion that the use of polyphenolic additives to PHBV materials (instead of synthetic additives) to improve their functionality is not an obstacle to their biodegradation in home compost.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Cécile Barron for sharing her expertise in XLSTAT software and statistical analyses.

Funding

This project was supported by ministerial grant provided by the University of Montpellier.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR IATE, Université de Montpellier, 163 rue Auguste Broussonnet, 34090, Montpellier, France

    Chloë Bonnenfant & Lucile Chatellard

  2. UMR IATE, INRAE, 2 place Pierre Viala, 34060, Montpellier, France

    Nathalie Gontard & Chahinez Aouf

Authors
  1. Chloë Bonnenfant
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  2. Lucile Chatellard
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  3. Nathalie Gontard
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  4. Chahinez Aouf
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by CB and LC. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CB and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Chahinez Aouf.

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Bonnenfant, C., Chatellard, L., Gontard, N. et al. Effect of Quercetin and Gallic Acid on the Microbial Degradation of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) Materials. J Polym Environ 31, 1478–1488 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-022-02708-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-022-02708-7

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