Antifungal efficacy of chitosan extracted from shrimp shell on strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) postharvest spoilage fungi

Abir El-Araby; Walid Janati; Riaz Ullah; Nisar Uddin; Ahmed Bari

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29286

Antifungal efficacy of chitosan extracted from shrimp shell on strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) postharvest spoilage fungi

Heliyon. 2024 Apr 4;10(7):e29286. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29286. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.

Authors

Abir El-Araby¹, Walid Janati¹, Riaz Ullah², Nisar Uddin³, Ahmed Bari⁴

Affiliations

¹ Functional Ecology and Environment Engineering Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Technology, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, 30050, Morocco.
² Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
³ Biofuels Institute, School of Emergency Management, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, China.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The strong demand for biological materials in the food industry places chitosan at the forefront of other biopolymers. The present study aims to evaluate the antifungal properties of chitosan extracted from shrimp shell waste (Parapenaeus longirostris) against post-harvest strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) spoilage fungi. The physicochemical characteristics (DD, Mw, and solubility) of extracted chitosan were determined. In addition, functional characteristics were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antifungal effect of chitosan on mycelial growth and spore germination of Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Rhizopus stolonifer was evaluated. Yield, degree of deacetylation, molecular weight, and solubility were 21.86%, 83.50%, 180 kDa, and 80.10%, respectively. A degree of deacetylation of 81.27% was calculated from the FTIR spectrum and a crystallinity index of 79.83% was determined from the X-ray diffraction pattern. SEM images of extracted chitosan showed a combination of fibrous and porous structure. At 3% chitosan, mycelial growth inhibition rates of A. niger, B. cinerea, F. oxysporum, and R. stolonifer ranged from 81.37% to 92.70%. At the same chitosan concentration, the percentages of spore germination inhibition of the isolated fungi ranged from 65.47% to 71.48%. The antifungal activity was highly dose-dependent. As a natural polymer, chitosan offers a convincing alternative to synthetic antimicrobials for the post-harvest preservation of strawberries. Its potential lies in its ability to inhibit the growth of spoilage fungi.

Keywords: Antifungal activity; Aspergillus niger; Botrytis cinerea; Chitosan; Fusarium oxysporum; Rhizopus stolonifer; Strawberry.