Postharvest Aloe vera gel coating application maintains the quality of harvested green chilies during cold storage.

The effect of Aloe vera (ALV) coating was studied on chillies at 10 ± 1°C for 28 days. ALV gel-coated chillies showed reduced weight loss, disease incidence, red chili percentage, respiration rate, electrolyte leakage, hydrogen peroxide, and superoxide anion contents. The ALV coating maintained general acceptance in terms of visual quality and marketability index with higher chlorophyll contents, ascorbic acid contents, total phenolic contents, and total antioxidants. In addition, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase activities were markedly higher in coated chillies compared to control. The biochemical attributes such as soluble solids content, acidity, sugar: acid ratio, and juice pH were non-significantly affected by ALV application; however, the said attributes were comparatively higher in contrast to control. In conclusion, ALV edible coating could be used as an eco-friendly approach for delaying senescence and maintaining the postharvest quality of green chillies up to 28 days. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Green chilies being highly perishable exhibit limited postharvest life with rapid loss of water, shrivelling, wilting, disease incidence, and reduced consumer acceptability. ALV gel coating significantly delayed postharvest senescence, reduced disease spread, maintained higher antioxidant activities of green chilies during cold storage. Therefore, ALV coating [50%] would be the suitable alternative to synthetic preservatives for extending the storage life and conserving the quality of green chilies.

Effect of gum arabic coating on antioxidative enzyme activities and quality of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) fruit during ambient storage.

The effect of gum arabic (GA) coating was studied on apricot fruit at 20 ± 1°C for 8 days. GA coating substantially reduced weight loss, disease incidence, malondialdehyde concentration, and hydrogen peroxide compared to the control. GA coating resulted in significantly higher total phenols, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant activity in contrast to the control. GA coating also suppressed cellulase, pectin methylesterase, and polygalacturonase activity in contrast to the non-coated fruit. In addition, GA-coated apricot fruit had substantially higher catalase, peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase enzymes activities in contrast with the control. Similarly, GA coating inhibited soluble solids content increase and inhibited the reduction in titratable acidity in coated fruit. The fruit coated with GA coating also had significantly better sensory and overall eating quality compared to the control apricots. In conclusion, GA could be considered an appropriate edible coating for quality conservation of apricots. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Apricot is a well renowned and nutrients rich fruit. However, apricot has comparatively short shelf life potential due to its susceptibility to rapid senescence and deterioration under ambient conditions. GA is an eco-friendly and biodegradable coating which is considered relatively cheap as compared with other coating types. In our present work, application of gum arabic [GA (10%)] edible coating maintained significantly higher quality of harvested apricot fruit as compared with the control. The outcomes of the present work are of global significance with respect to apricot industry. So, GA coating could be considered an appropriate edible coating for quality conservation of the harvested apricot fruit.