The Effect of Chitosan Coating on the Biochemical Properties of Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) during the Storage Period

Some of the limitations of storage, marketing, and export of bell pepper (Capsicum annum L.) are the rapid ripening after harvest and microbial spoilage, which reduce the qualitative properties of the fruit and exacerbate the spoilage of the fruit. These problems can be prevented by postharvest methods. Edible coating treatments can be used after harvesting various fruits. In this experiment, we investigated the effects of chitosan as edible coating at the four levels (۰, ۰.۵, ۱, and ۲%) and the days of the storage (۰, ۷, ۱۴, ۲۱, and ۲۸) on the postharvest quality of bell pepper (CV. ‘California Wonder’) with four replications using two factorial-balanced analysis of variance on the basis of randomized complete design (CRD). In measuring enzyme activity after ۲۸ days of storage, the results showed that the chitosan treatment (۲%) significantly reduced the activity of peroxidase (۷۶.۲۵%) and polyphenol oxidase enzymes (۳۷.۰۵%), compared to the control. On the other hand, it significantly increased antioxidant capacity, total phenol, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, ascorbate peroxidase, and catalase activities by ۴۱.۷, ۲۱.۵, ۲۱.۷, ۳۲.۲۵, ۵۹.۰۵, and ۵۸.۱۰%, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that different concentrations of chitosan, especially at a concentration of ۲%, maintained the postharvest quality of bell pepper and delayed the aging of bell pepper, compared to the control. According to the results of this study, the use of this edible coating can be recommended to increase the shelf life of bell peppers fruit.

کلیدواژه ها:

polyphenol oxidase ، phenol ، Catalase ، fruit quality ، Shelf life ، bell peppers