Effects of storage temperature chitosan and nano-chitosan on postharvest physico-chemical and sensory attributes of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch)

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of temperature, chitosan (CS) and nano-chitosan (NCS) coating on physico-chemical properties of strawberry during storage. Among four studied temperatures (2oC, 5oC, 10oC and 25oC), 2oC showed the most effective one as maintaining the overall quality index of strawberry up to 12 days; meanwhile, fruits stored at 25oC was quickly decayed after 3 days. Coating strawberry with 0.2% and 0.4% nano-chitosan helped to prevent mold growing and preserved the overall quality index of the fruit up to 21 days. The treatments reduced weight loss, maintained firmness, titratable acidity, L-ascorbic acid, total phenolic and anthocyanin contents in stored strawberry. Although 2% chitosan coating showed the positive effects on the quality of stored fruits generally, the overall quality index of fruit was reduced below acceptable level after 18 days, shorter as compared to using lower concentrations of nano-chitosan. Keyword: Antioxidant capacity, anthocyanin, chitosan, malondialdehyde, nano-chitosan, polyphenol oxidase assay, polyphenols, post-harvest, storage temperature, strawberry, vitamin C.