Evaluation of Polysaccharide-Based Edible Coatings for Their Ability to Preserve the Postharvest Quality of Indian Blackberry (Syzygium cumini L.)

Indian blackberry or Jamun (Syzygium cumini L.) is an underutilized fruit with good therapeutic value, but is highly perishable. So considering these facts, this study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of biodegradable coatings of chitosan (CH), alginate (AL), and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) for improvement of postharvest shelf life and quality characteristics of Jamun fruit. Jamun samples were dipped for 2 min into the solution of CH (1.5% and 1%), AL (1.5% and 1%), and CMC (1.5% and 1%), while the uncoated fruit served as control. Jamun fruit coated with edible coatings exhibited significant delay in weight loss and positive effects on decay percentage, total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, and sugar accumulation as compared to uncoated control fruit. In addition, edible coatings showed a positive effect on maintaining a higher concentration of antioxidant compounds. Compared to the control, all of the coatings had positive effects on the inhibition of cell wall degrading enzyme activities. After 16 days of storage, jamun samples treated with CH and CMC coatings maintained good sensory acceptability. The results of the study suggest that a coating of CH 1.5% and CMC 1.5% is useful for extending the shelf life of jamun fruit, which in turn is effective in stabilizing the market demand and proved to be safe and effective at ambient conditions.