Authors Hajebi Seyed, R.; Rastegar, S.; Faramarzi, S.
Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is a tropical fruit which is climacteric and highly perishable. Consequently, it is indispensable to address postharvest management techniques by applying eco-friendly technologies to reduce crop losses. Thus, the current study was conducted to evaluate Aloe vera gels in?uence alone and chitosan and calcium chloride (CaCl2) on mango shelf life during the storage time at the ambient temperature (25 ± 2″C) for 21 days. The results exhibited that A. vera-chitosan coatings were able to remarkably decrease weight loss and ascorbic acid reduction throughout the storage period. Total phenol and antioxidant activity progressively diminished during the storage, and control fruits exhibited the lowest content of the phenol content and antioxidant activity during the storage. Mango is one of the most important tropical fruits that has a unique status among other fruits in terms of appearance, taste, favorable aroma, excellent bene?cial nutritional values and general eating features. In general, due to the highly perishable nature and sensitivity of mango, a good postharvest practice is required to extend Mangos shelf life. edible coatings are promising technologies applied in quality improvement and shelf-life extension of fruits. Edible ?lms and coatings have many advantages over other postharvest treatments. They can add commercial value to fruits by enhancing their appearance, safety, quality, and act as carriers of functional ingredients, such as antioxidants, antimicrobial agents and nutraceuticals. Edible coatings prevent the exchange of gases and water vapor by forming a modi?ed atmosphere around the crop, thereby reducing the respiration rate of the fruit and preserving the quality of crops. Aloe vera gel is one of the novel edible coatings which has recently attracted many researchers. A. vera gel is clear, odorless, non-sticky having high absorbency completely healthy and environmentally friendly, with a pH of about 4.5 which can replace various fruit coverings at the postharvest stage. Approximately 96% of A. vera leaf gel is water and the remaining 4% consist of other compounds such as essential oils, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes. This polysaccharide gel act as a barrier to moisture and O2, reducing water loss and gas exchange through lenticel coating, resulting in a slow respiration rate and conserving fruit quality . The combination of A. vera with salicylic acid was more e?ective in maintaining quality and decreasing microbial load compared to the individual substances in orange fruit. In more detail, A. vera gel coatings could signi?cantly delay the ?rmness, discoloration and weight loss in fruits. Chitosan is considered as an edible coating which has high antimicrobial activity and compatibility with sub-stances such as minerals, vitamins and antimicrobial agents used for products shelf life. The ability of chitosan coating in reducing disease incidence of mango has been well acknowledged in many studies. Several studies reported that chitosan, either alone or in combination with other materials, was able to decrease respiration, loss of ?rmness, weight loss, and disease incidence. It is well known that calcium chloride (CaCl2) could maintain the fruit quality during storage by reducing the metabolism activities and the respiration rate. Calcium chloride (3%) combined with nano-chitosan, preserved, ascorbic acid, antioxidant activity and total anthocyanin contents of strawberries stored 15 days at 4″C . Adding edible materials to coatings improves the functional, nutritional, organoleptic and mechanical properties of coatings and can be considered as a new method to maintain products quality. Studies focused on the e?ect of A. vera and its compounds with calcium and chitosan on mango quality are limited and fruit.
