Bioactive plastic made with mango leaves protects food from bugs and UV Samples of bioplastic developed by scientists in Spain and Portugal Fundación Descubre Fundación Descubre Current plastic films do a great job of keeping food fresh while it sits on the supermarket shelf, but lately we're seeing advanced forms of these materials that might play more than a passive role in preventing spoilage. A new "bioactive" material from researchers in Spain and Portugal serves as another compelling example, making use of extracts from mango leaves to fend off food pathogens and ultraviolet light. The new bioactive plastic was developed by researchers at the University of Cadiz in Spain and the University of Aveiro in Portugal, who gathered mango leaves from pruning remains at a local farm. Mango leaf extract was then combined with nanocellulose from paper processing to form a novel film through a technique called supercritical solvent impregnation.