Efeitos de revestimentos comestíveis funcionais em frutas minimamente processadas

Abstract

There is a growing market demand for consumption of nutritious, fresh and practical foods for consumption. The size of some fruits limits this practicality of consumption, despite their attractive nutritional and bioactive composition, as occurs with mango and melon. The sale of fruits in minimally processed form is a way to increase their consumption, while increasing their perishability. Considering that the application of edible coatings added with functional ingredients such as probiotics and prebiotics can prolong storage time and add functionality to minimally processed fruits, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of edible coatings added with Lacticaseibacillus casei 01 (Lc-01). and/or fructooligosaccharide (FOS) in the physical-chemical aspects of quality (weight loss, firmness, color, pH, titratable acidity-AT, total soluble solids-TSS and enzymatic activity), in the chemical composition (sugars, organic acids and compounds volatiles) and sensorial of minimally processed mango and melon during refrigerated storage (5 ± 1 °C / 12 days). Surface characteristics of the coatings and their impacts on the viability and metabolism of the probiotic, when added, during simulated gastrointestinal exposure and storage were also evaluated. The coatings added with Lc-01 and/or FOS were able to maintain the quality of mango and melon by delaying the increase in TSS, pH, sugar content (glucose and fructose), and the decrease in TA and organic acids, contributing to the maintenance of firmness and reduction in weight loss. The coatings added with Lc-01 and/or FOS were efficient in maintaining the quality of mango and melon by delaying the increase in TSS, pH, sugar content (glucose and fructose), and organic acids, contributing to the maintenance of firmness and reduction in weight loss. The decrease in enzyme activities (PPO, POD) contributed to the delay in color development. Mango and melon cubes coated with ALG-SYN showed a higher concentration of the volatile composition and were associated with the panel with better sensory properties. SEM analysis showed the presence of the probiotic on the surface of the coated fruit and Lc-01 counts remained above 6 log CFU/g during storage for mango and melon coated with ALG-Lc-01 and ALG-SYN before and after in vitro digestion. The results presented indicate that functional edible coatings, such as ALG-SYN, can be used as an alternative to extend the shelf life of minimally processed mangoes and melons, as well as being probiotic carriers, reducing the impacts of storage on changes in physical-chemical aspects. quality and sensory properties.