Synergistic effect of macadamia nut oil and Chitosan coatings on physicochemical characteristics of tomatoes during storage
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Date
2025-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Abstract
A signicant portion o globally produced ruits are lost between the armer and consumer, necessitating solutions like natural
edible coatings or preservation due to their low cost and less toxicity. Tis study aimed to assess whether the combination o
macadamia nut oil and chitosan posed synergistic eects on physicochemical properties o tomato ruits or the macadamia nut oil
alone. A completely randomized design (CRD) with eight treatments was employed: S1 (control), S2–S4 (combined macadamia
nut oil and chitosan coating), S5–S7 (macadamia nut oil coating), and S8 (chitosan). Te experimental setup was conducted over
20 days at rerigeration (4°C) and postharvest shed conditions (23.8°C–30°C, 65.8%–97.5% RH). Te coating solution made up o
a combination o 2.5% v/v macadamia nut oil and 1% w/v chitosan showed signicant dierences (p ≤ 0.05) in slowing down the
changes in pH rom 3.95 to 4.3, total chlorophyll content rom 0.19 mg/100 to 0.12 mg/100 mL, and lipid peroxidation rom 13.5 to
19.71 meq/kg. Moreover, coating solutions made by macadamia nut oil alone, especially with 1% v/v, showed the smallest
increases in total soluble solids (SS) and total sugar content, and also they exhibited the smallest decreases in titratable acidity
(0.64 to 0.08 g/L), ripening index (5.78 to 84.74), total carotenoids (17.02 to 24.585 μg/g), and rmness (355 N to 130 N).
Comparative analysis indicated that 1% v/v macadamia nut oil had higher mean dierences (p < 0.05) or most physicochemical
parameters than coating solutions comprising 2.5% v/v macadamia nut oil and 1% w/v chitosan. However, this nding highlighted
that the combination o macadamia nut oil with chitosan oers a synergistic eect on specic crucial parameters (pH, total
chlorophyll content, and lipid peroxidation) compared to macadamia nut oil alone. Further studies could investigate the an-
timicrobial eect o tomatoes treated with a combination o macadamia nut oil and chitosan.
Description
Keywords
edible coatings, firmness, physicochemical, postharvest shed, refrigeration