Novel edible coating based on Macadamia Nut oil and chitosan to maintain the antioxidant and physical properties of tomato fruits
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Date
2024-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Applied Food Research
Abstract
Innovative approaches for extending the shelf life of tomatoes are required due to increased postharvest losses of
climacteric-fruits. The use of edible coatings is recently considered as a promising approach due to their non-
toxicity and affordability properties. The coatings form physical barriers that alter the internal atmosphere of
the fruit and slow down a ripening process. The inuence of an edible coating comprising of chitosan and
macadamia nut oil on the antioxidant and physical properties of tomato fruits is reported. The antioxidant and
physical qualities of tomato fruits were investigated using different coating solutions. Various concentrations of
macadamia nut oil, ranging from 1 % to 2.5 %, were used as independent coating solutions. Additionally, another
set of coating solutions was prepared by mixing macadamia nut oil in the same concentration range (1 % to
2.5 %) with 1 % w/v chitosan. The tomatoes were dipped into the coating solutions and stored under a post-
harvest shed (23.8–30 ◦ C, 65.8–97.5 % RH) for 20 days to monitor total phenolic content, total avonoid con-
tent, ascorbic acid content, color, percentage weight loss, decay percentage, and shelf life after every 5-days
interval. The results showed a signicant difference (P < 0.05) between coated and uncoated tomato samples.
The coated tomatoes showed the signicant retention of total avonoid content, total phenolic content, hue
angle and red-green (a*) compared to uncoated tomatoes. On contrast, the decrease of decay, weight loss, the
lightness (L), blue-yellow (b*), chroma, and ascorbic acid content was lower for coated compared to control
tomatoes. The ndings indicated that 1 % macadamia nut oil exhibited the highest retention of antioxidant and
physical properties, and lowest decrease in ascorbic acid content from 0.014 mg/100 g on the 5th day to 0.0096
mg/100 g on the 20th day was observed. Thus, the ndings from this study suggest that the macadamia nuts can
serve as a cheap and low-cost source of edible oil suitable for prolonging the shelf life of tomatoes and related
fruits.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
Macadamia nut oil, Tomato preservation, Shelf life, Antioxidant, Physical quality