Liso de biopolimeros como revestimentos comestiveis em jacas minimamente processadas.

Abstract

The application of coatings to fruit aims to replicate the function of the natural cuticular barrier, aiming to reduce respiration through gas exchange with the environment and increasing their postharvest shelf life, a strategy that has proven to be economically viable. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of minimally processed hard jackfruit berries subjected to applications of different edible coatings. Four types of film-forming solutions were used to obtain the solutions: three non-traditional starch sources: breadfruit, avocado seeds, and hard jackfruit seeds, and the fourth source was chitosan. The coatings were obtained and applied to the hard jackfruit berries by immersing the fruits for 1 minute in eight treatments: one control, without coating, immersed in distilled water; and seven treatments with polymer coatings, where each polymer was added at a different concentration (2.0%). The coated minimally processed jackfruits were packaged in plastic bags and added to BOD. They were evaluated for 10 days at 3 °C. Analyses were performed on physical and physicochemical characteristics such as yield, color index (CI), apparent density, compacted density, wettability, water content, water activity, and fixed mineral residue (for starches). For berries, mass loss, hydrogen potential (pH), soluble solids, titratable acidity, SS/AT ratio, and total sugars were analyzed. Bioactive compounds were analyzed for ascorbic acid, carotenoids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, chlorophylls, and phenolic compounds. A completely randomized design was used, with an 8 x 6 factorial arrangement and three replicates. The results showed that the starches used represented a good alternative for the production of coatings with potential for application on postharvest fruits. The combined treatments showed low mass loss over the 10 days. The soluble solids and flavonoid contents remained stable throughout the evaluation periods when subjected to the combined treatments, especially when chitosan was present. The combined treatments were effective, resulting in an increase in the shelf life of minimally processed products by at least 8 days postharvest, with characteristics of freshness, quality, and significant maintenance of the bioactive components present in the fruit.