Use of Almond Gum and Gum Arabic as Novel Edible Coating to Delay Postharvest Ripening and to Maintain Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) Quality during Storage

Almond gum and gum arabic were used as edible coatings for sweet cherries in order to delay their ripening during postharvest storage at 2C and 90–95% relative humidity for 15 days. Coating of sweet cherries with 10% almond gum or gum arabic has been found to enhance their shelf life and postharvest quality. Fruits coated with almond gum or gum arabic showed a significant decrease in respiration rate as well as ethylene production. Moreover, coatings were able to delay changes in weight, firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids concentration and color development compared with uncoated control fruit. The results suggested that by using almond gum as an edible coating, we can delay the ripening process and increase the shelf life of sweet cherries stored at 2C for 15 days without any spoilage and off‐flavor. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Edible coatings could be an effective tool for delaying the ripening process of fruits and vegetables during the postharvest storage period. The effectiveness of almond gum from Prunus dulcis as a novel edible coating, in comparison with gum arabic, was studied in sweet cherries in order to maintain parameters related to quality during postharvest storage. The results showed that almond gum was able to slow down the gas exchange by reducing the CO₂ concentration of coated sweet cherries, which reduced their ethylene production. As a result, the evolution of parameters related to the quality of sweet cherries was significantly delayed. Moreover, the results suggested that almond gum could be explored as a novel and potential natural edible coating to substitute the synthetic forms of fruit and vegetable packaging.