Comparative performance of chitosan-based edible coatings functionalized with Piper betle L. and Sonneratia ovata Back. leaf extracts for postharvest banana (Musa acuminate L.) preservation

Cavendish banana (Musa acuminate L.) is frequently consumed fruit due to the abundant vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds, but its main unfriendliness is high perishability due to the continued respiration after being harvested. Short shelf life of fresh bananas causes remarkable postharvest losses during transportation and storage that affect to the supply and demand for both the domestic and export markets. Herein, edible coating solutions from chitosan enriched with Piper betle L. leaf extract (PBLE) and Sonneratia ovata Back. leaf extract (SOE) were applied to delay the ripening of post-harvest Cavendish banana. The PBLE and SOE with high total polyphenol content were introduced into chitosan solution to impart the outstanding bactericidal and antioxidant function. The viscosity, surface tension, and pH of blend solutions as well as coating efficiency (namely, work of adhesion and spreading coefficient) on banana skin were determined. Chitosan solution co-enriched with SOE and PBLE provided low surface tension and viscosity, leading to high work of adhesion and spreading coefficient as compared to other formulations. Chitosan coatings co-functionalized with SOE and PBLE was found to be efficient to delay the ripening of post-harvest banana during 10-day storage at 20 degrees C and 64 %RH by controlling CO2 production, weight loss, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity consumption. These findings demonstrated that the chitosan coating co-incorporated with SOE and PBLE has great potential for enhancing storability of agri-food. However, the important challenge in the fruit preservation is the special smell of PBLE, which affects the flavor of inside products and thus, the encapsulation techniques should be performed to mask the PBLE smell in the further investigation.