Chitosan-based layer-by-layer edible coatings application for the preservation of mandarin fruit bioactive compounds and organic acids

Slaven Jurić; Marija Sigurnjak Bureš; Kristina Vlahoviček-Kahlina; Katarina Sopko Stracenski; Goran Fruk; Nenad Jalšenjak; Luna Maslov Bandić

doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2023.100575

Chitosan-based layer-by-layer edible coatings application for the preservation of mandarin fruit bioactive compounds and organic acids

Food Chem X. 2023 Jan 11:17:100575. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2023.100575. eCollection 2023 Mar 30.

Authors

Slaven Jurić¹, Marija Sigurnjak Bureš¹, Kristina Vlahoviček-Kahlina¹, Katarina Sopko Stracenski¹, Goran Fruk², Nenad Jalšenjak¹, Luna Maslov Bandić¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska cesta 25, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.
² Department of Pomology, University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska cesta 25, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.

Abstract

The layer-by-layer application of biopolymeric coatings to mandarin fruits as a postharvest treatment to improve fruit coating efficacy has been reported. A single 1 % (w/v) chitosan application was evaluated, and polyelectrolyte complexes such as 1.5 % (w/v) alginate/chitosan, 1 % (w/v) hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/chitosan, and 0.2 % (w/v) locust bean gum/chitosan were applied to mandarin fruits. The quality of coated mandarin fruits was observed at temperatures: 20 ± 2 °C (up to 10 days) and 5 °C (up to 28 days). Changes in the fruit metabolism were observed by evaluating bioactive compounds (polyphenolic compounds and flavonoids), antioxidant activity, and organic acids during the preservation of mandarin fruits. All of the tested combinations of layer-by-layer coatings significantly impacted the quality of mandarin fruits throughout storage, both at room temperature and cold storage, respectively. The overall best performance was observed for a layer-by-layer hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/chitosan coating in terms of visual aspects, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and organic acids content.

Keywords: ABTS, 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid); AC, alginate/chitosan-coated mandarins; ANOVA, analysis of variance; Bioactive compounds; C, chitosan single-coated mandarins; CIE, International Commission on Illumination; CS, Cold storage; Chitosan; Ctrl, control; DAD, diode-array detector; DPPH, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; Edible coatings; GC, locust bean gum/chitosan-coated mandarins; HC, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/chitosan-coated mandarins; HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography; KMO, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy; LbL, Layer-by-Layer; Mandarin fruit; Organic acids; PCA, Principal component analysis; Polyelectrolyte complex; RT, Room temperature; TA, Titratable acidity; TF, Total flavonoids; TPC, Total polyphenolic content; TSS, Total soluble solids.