ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Biotecnologica 2015 March;27(1):1-9

Copyright © 2015 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Postharvest quality of peaches influenced by mucilage-oil coating and microencapsulated oil

Alikhani-Kupaei M. ¹, Daraei Garmakhany A. ², Adibian M. ¹

¹ Faculty of Agricultural and Natural Resources of Saravan, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran; ² Department of Food Science and Technology, Toyserkan Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran

AIM: Peaches are very perishable and have short shelf life, and both traders and buyers would like it to be longer. Aim of the study was to assess if application of the compound treatment effectively prolongs the quality attributes and extends the shelf-life of peaches.
METHODS: Peach fruits were treated with coating opuntia mucilage-rosemary oil (Mu + RO), 2 g rosemary oil microencapsul (ROM) and (Mu + RO) plus 2 g (ROM); placed into PE film packaging and then stored at 1 oC. Changes in the quality parameters and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) enzymes were evaluated in 9 days intervals for 36 days of storage period.
RESULTS: All treatments retarded loss of ascorbic acid and the drop in sensory acceptability, decreasing activities of SOD and POD enzymes. These also inhibited the decay incidence.
CONCLUSION: The (Mu + RO) treatment was more effective in controlling postharvest quality as compared to the (ROM) treatment, but the data reveal that applying the compound treatment effectively prolongs the quality attributes and extends the shelf life of peach fruit.