Potential application of chitosan-clay coating on some quality properties of agricultural product during storage

Abstract

Lemon is cultivated in many countries including of Iran as one of the most important citrus fruit. Because of the split skin and very juicy properties, the quality of lemon fruits has been affected by some environmental factors during storage. In the present study, the efficiency of chitosan-clay nano-composite coating on some quality propertiesof lemon was investigated during cold storage. Nano-structural feature of prepared chitosan-clay was approved by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The chemical and mechanical properties of coated and uncoated fruit samples including of Total Soluble Solid (TSS),Titratable Acid (TA), and firmness, shear and punch forces were measured after 0 to 63 days cold storage. Coated samples showed significantly the lowest value of TSS and punch force and the highest value TA, and firmness and peel shear forces. Furthermore, coated samples indicated the lowestweight loss during storage. Based on the results of present study, the quality properties of lemon fruit samples was improved after coating with chitosan-clay nano-composite during storage.