Title: Effect of edible coating enriched with extracts on functional properties of round gourd (Benincasa fistulosa) during cold storage

Authors: Ayeza Naeem; Tanveer Abbas; Tahira Mohsin Ali; Abid Hasnain

Addresses: Department of Microbiology, University of Karachi, 75270, Karachi, Pakistan ' Department of Microbiology, University of Karachi, 75270, Karachi, Pakistan ' Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Karachi, 75270, Karachi, Pakistan ' Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Karachi, 75270, Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract: This study evaluated the effect of guar gum and extract coatings on the bioactive compounds, physicochemical, physiological and microbiological parameters of round gourd fruit (RG). The coated fruits were monitored over 18 days of storage at 10°C (85% relative humidity). The lowest rates of increase in tested parameters were observed for guar gum coatings supplemented with ethanolic extracts. In case of bacterial enumeration in RG homogenate, methanolic and ethanolic extract coated RG showed decline in viable counts and the values were statistically significant. Significant increase in all tested parameters was observed for treated control (GG) and untreated control (UN). The UN and GG decayed after three and eight days of storage, respectively. Whereas, guar gum coatings containing extracts increased shelf life to 18 days at 10°C. The data obtained in this study supported the use of tested edible coatings as a safer alternative to preserve round gourd.

Keywords: guar gum; extract; Benincasa fistulosa; edible coating; bioactive compounds; total viable counts; methanolic; ethanolic; shelf life; browning index.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPTI.2019.106462

International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation, 2019 Vol.6 No.4, pp.301 - 313

Accepted: 17 Dec 2019
Published online: 07 Apr 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article