Postbiotics-enriched flaxseed mucilage coating: A solution to improving postharvest quality and shelf life of strawberry

Abstract

This research aimed to assess the effects of flaxseed mucilage (Mu) coatings supplemented with postbiotics (P) obtained from Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 on various physical, biochemical, and microbial characteristics of strawberry fruits. Strawberry fruits were immersed for 2 min in Mu_2.5 (2.5 % mucilage in distilled water), Mu₅ (5 % mucilage in distilled water), P-Mu_2.5 (2.5 % mucilage in undiluted postbiotics) and P-Mu₅ (5 % mucilage in undiluted postbiotics) solutions and were stored at 4 °C and 85 RH for 12 days. All coatings were effective in reducing fungal count compared to the uncoated control fruits. Mu₅ coating exhibited the highest efficacy, reducing fungal count by 2.85 log₁₀ CFU/g, followed by Mu_2.5 (1.47 log₁₀ CFU/g reduction) and P-Mu_2.5 groups (0.90 log₁₀ CFU/g reduction). The fruits coated with edible coatings showed significant delays in the change of weight loss, pH, and total soluble solids as compared to the uncoated fruits. The coating containing postbiotics i.e., P-Mu₅ also showed a significant increase in the total phenolic contents, total flavonoid content, antioxidant capacity, and total anthocyanin content at the end of storage relative to the uncoated fruits. Thus, Mu and P-Mu coatings may be a useful approach to maintaining the postharvest quality of strawberry fruits during cold storage.

Keywords: Edible coating; Flaxseed mucilage; Functional food; Postbiotics; Shelf-life; Strawberry.