Delayed post‐harvest ripening‐associated changes in Manilkara zapota L. var. Kalipatti with composite edible coating

BACKGROUND There has been limited research on extending the shelf‐life of sapota (Manilkara zapota L. var. Kalipatti) fruit. An edible coating made up of methyl cellulose (MC) and palm oil (PO) was applied to study the extension in shelf‐life. Changes in physical and chemical properties of fruit were studied along with peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and pectin methylesterase (PME) activities during post‐harvest ripening of sapota. RESULTS The fruits coated with 15 g L−1 MC and 11.25 g L−1 PO showed significant (P < 0.05) delay in physiological weight loss, decrease in fruit firmness losses as well as slower fruit darkening. The coating on the fruits resulted in better retention of ascorbic acid, delayed the loss of total phenolic content, and delayed the increase in total soluble solids and total reducing sugars as compared to control fruits. The coating either delayed or reduced the enzyme activities of POD, PPO and PME of the fruit. CONCLUSION The results suggest that edible coating made up of MC‐PO has potential to maintain the quality of sapota fruit. The edible coating extended the shelf‐life of sapota fruit by 3 days preserving fruit quality up to 7 days at 24 ± 1 °C and 65 ± 5 %RH. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry