Chitosan as a Coating for Biocontrol in Postharvest Products: A Bibliometric Review

The aim of this work was to carry out a systematic literature review focused on the scientific production, trends, and characteristics of a knowledge domain of high worldwide importance, namely, the use of chitosan as a coating for postharvest disease biocontrol in fruits and vegetables, which are generated mainly by fungi and bacteria such as Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifera, and Botrytis cinerea. For this, the analysis of 875 published documents in the Scopus database was performed for the years 2011 to 2021. The information of the keywords' co-occurrence was visualized and studied using the free access VOSviewer software to show the trend of the topic in general. The study showed a research increase of the chitosan and nanoparticle chitosan coating applications to diminish the postharvest damage by microorganisms (fungi and bacteria), as well as the improvement of the shelf life and quality of the products.

Automated summary

This study focused on the scientific production, trends, and characteristics of using chitosan as a coating for postharvest disease biocontrol in fruits and vegetables, mainly caused by fungi and bacteria. The research shows a growing interest in utilizing chitosan and nanoparticle chitosan coatings to reduce postharvest damage by microorganisms and enhance product shelf life and quality. The study highlights the potential and importance of chitosan in the field of fruit and vegetable preservation.