What is it about?
Utilization of essential oils alone or incorporation with edible films is an appropriate technique to conserve the quality attributes and reduce post-harvest deterioration in fresh vegetables and fruits. Strawberries, being perishable fruits have a short shelf life, and using essential oils is considered one of the most suitable methods to prolong their shelf life during storage. The current study assessed the impact of different essential oils, including lemon oil (L), orange oil (O) and mandarin oil (M) on the physicochemical and microbial load of strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa cv. Festival) stored at 2 ± 1 °C and 95% relative humidity (RH) for 18 days. The differences in the physicochemical and microbial properties of strawberries were assessed by determining the following parameter changes: weight loss, decay percentage, firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, color, anthocyanins, vitamin C, total phenol, total antioxidant, catalase activity, polyphenol oxidase activity, sensory evaluation, microbial content, total coliforms, molds, and yeasts. The results of this study indicated that the fruits treated with all essential oils treatments (L, O and M) had higher total antioxidant content and physicochemical properties than untreated fruits, due to protection against the microbial growth of molds, and yeasts. At the end of the storage period, the treated fruits showed a greater acceptance and sensory attributes than the untreated fruits. Furthermore, the correlation study showed a significant and negative relationship between the total antioxidant of treated fruits and following quality attributes including, weight loss, decay percentage, respiration rate soluble solids content, polyphenol oxidase activity, molds, and yeasts. It is noteworthy that all the essential oil treatments extended the shelf-life of strawberries and delayed their deterioration up to 18 days. Figure 1. Percentage free radical scavenging activity and IC50 of citrus peel essential oils (L = lemon, O = orange, and M = mandarin essential oil). Vertical bars indicate standard deviation (n = 3). Means and different letters indicate significant difference between essential oils at each concentration (Duncan's of 95%). Figure 6. Effect of different essential oil emulsions (L = lemon, O = orange, and M = mandarin essential oil) on color surface of strawberry fruits stored at 2 °C for 18 days. (A) = lightness (L* value) and (B) = redness (a* value). Vertical bars indicate the standard deviation (n = 6). Means and different letters Figure 10. Effect of different essential oil emulsions (L = lemon, O = orange, and M = mandarin essential oil) on titratable acidity of strawberry fruits stored at 2 • C for 18 days. Vertical bars indicate the standard deviation (n = 6). Means and different letters indicate significant difference between treated and control fruits at each storage period (Duncan's of 95%).
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Why is it important?
Show the importance of natural preservatives as a replacer of chemicals for extending the shelf life of strawberry and keeping its postharvest quality
Perspectives
It will be the future view of all consumers searching for healthy products Also, it will be helpfull for producers who searching for producing high qulaity products with low cost
Dr Marwa Rashad Ali
Food Science Department - Faculty of Agriculture -Cairo University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Effect of Some Citrus Essential Oils on Post-Harvest Shelf Life and Physicochemical Quality of Strawberries during Cold Storage, Agronomy, September 2020, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/agronomy10101466.
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