Effectiveness of Sodium Alginate Edible Coating in Preserving the Quality of Citrus Fruit (Citrus clementina) during Storage

Clemantin mandarin is sensitive to physiological disorders due to metabolic activities such as respiration, that lead to fruit quality loss. In this study, the effect of sodium alginate (SA) coatings on weight loss (WL), fruit hardness, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS) and pH of mandarins were evaluated. The results revealed that mandarins coated with ۰.۵% SA exhibited a slower decline in hardness, juice content and TA during the storage as compared to ۰.۲۵% SA and the control samples. Higher TSS and WL were observed in control samples than coated ones, while SA coating did not show a significant effect on pH. Coating induced reduction in respiration and moisture loss, helping to maintain fruit quality during storage. This suggests that SA is a suitable postharvest treatment for clementin mandarins.

کلیدواژه ها:

Clementin mandarin ، Fruit hardness ، Sodium alginate ، Total soluble solids