Aloe vera and ascorbic acid coatings maintain postharvest quality and reduce microbial load of strawberry fruit
Introduction
Strawberries (Fragaria X ananassa Duch.), one of the most popular summer fruit worldwide, are characterized by unique and highly desirable taste and flavor, and are rich in polyphenols and anthocyanin, vitamins and amino acids (Campaniello et al., 2008). However, the fruit are highly perishable resulting in a short post-harvest life due to mechanical injury, physiological deterioration, water loss, fungal decay and high respiration rate (Perkin-Veazie, 1995, Vargas et al., 2006). Cold temperatures and modified atmospheres increase the storage life of fruit (Martinez-Romero et al., 2003), but additional methods of maintaining quality are still under investigation.
Recently, applications of edible coatings have been shown to be promising as a tool to improve the quality and extend storage and shelf life of various fruit such as papaya (Tapia et al., 2008) and strawberries (Vargas et al., 2006). Coatings can act as moisture and gas semi-permeable barriers, resulting in control of microbial growth, preservation of color and texture (Bourtoom, 2008). One such product is Aloe vera (AV), a novel edible coating for fruit storage (Serrano et al., 2006, Valverde et al., 2005). AV has antifungal activity against several pathogenic fungi including Botrytis cinerea (De Rodrıguez et al., 2005). AV coatings modify the internal gas atmosphere, reduce moisture loss, softening, respiration rates, delay oxidative browning and reduce microorganism proliferation in fruit such as sweet cherries, table grapes, nectarines and papaya (Ahmed et al., 2009, Marpudi et al., 2011, Martínez-Romero et al., 2006, Valverde et al., 2005). AV coating alone or in combination with shellac, preserves physico-chemical parameters such as color and firmness in apple slices (Chauhan et al., 2011).
Ascorbic acid (AA) and its derivatives have been used in numerous studies in fruit in concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 4% (w/v). Anti-browning effects of AA have been demonstrated in several fruit fresh-cut products under a wide range of conditions (Gil et al., 1998, Tapia et al., 2008). In addition, AA as an antioxidant that reduces vitamin C lost can be added to the edible coating material. Some studies (Tajkarimi and Ibrahim, 2011) have suggested that AA in combination with lactic acid has antimicrobial effects against Listeria monocytogenes and on Escherichia coli O157:H7 in carrot juice. Antimicrobial effects of AA on fresh cut fruit such as jackfruit (Acedo et al., 2012), apple (Perez-Gago et al., 2006, Qi et al., 2011) and papaya (Tapia et al., 2008) have been reported.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of AV as an edible coating for strawberries in combination with AA on quality and microbial characteristic of fresh strawberry fruit during storage.
Section snippets
Plant material
Strawberry (Fragaria X anannasa Duch.), cv. ‘Parous’, was harvested from commercial farm located near Kurdistan University, Sanandaj, Iran. The maturity stage of the fruit was 80% red color on the fruit surface. Fruit were selected for uniformity in size, shape and color without signs of mechanical damage, blemishes and disease, and divided randomly into 93 replicates of 10 fruit. Three replicates were sampled immediately to assess fruit characteristics at harvest (day 0). The replicates were
Weight loss
Weight loss of fruit in all treatments increased during storage, but it was greater in untreated than treated fruit (Fig. 1A). Weight loss was inhibited more in AV + AA-treatments than in AV alone. By the end of the storage period, loss in untreated fruit was 21.3%, compared with 18.1 in AV and 12.6% in AV + AAs-treated fruit.
Weight loss mainly occurs due to water loss by transpiration and loss of carbon reserves due to respiration (Vogler and Ernst, 1999). The rate at which water is lost depends
Conclusion
In conclusion, our research indicates that AV in combination with AA could prolong postharvest life of strawberry fruit by maintaining or delaying fruit quality attributes including fruit firmness, SSC, TA, vitamin C, anthocyanin, TP and total antioxidant activity, and reduce decay by suppression of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria and yeast and mold growth. These results suggest that AV plus AA treatments, specially AV plus 5% AA, may be a useful biochemical way of maintaining strawberry
Acknowledgments
We thank University of Kurdistan for providing facilities and financial support. Furthermore, we express our thanks to Professor Christopher B. Watkins, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, for his valuable comments on the manuscript and English revision.
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