Effects of Edible Micronized Chitosan Coating on Quality and Shelf Life of Sliced Papaya

Po-Jung Chien^1*, Hung-Ren Lin², Min-Sheng Su³

¹Department of Horticulture and Biotechnology, Chinese Culture University, Taipei City.
²Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, National Taiwan University, Taipei City.
³Department of Food Science, Yuanpei University, Hsinchu City.

DOI: 10.4236/fns.2013.49A2002                

Abstract

Papaya pulp is very perishable and has a short shelf life. Manually sliced papayas were treated with 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1% chitosan (non-micronized and micronized) aqueous solutions; placed into plastic trays, and over-wrapped with PVDC film and then stored at 4°C. Color, soluble solid content, water loss, and total plate count of samples were evaluated. Chitosan coating had the ability to maintain the lightness of the sliced papayas. The a* values of the micronized chitosan-coated sliced papayas were significantly lower than those of the-coated. The sliced papayas that had been treated with 1% MC had a higher total soluble solid content and lower b* value after four days of storage. Also, the chitosan coating on the sliced papaya effectively retarded water loss and inhibited the growth of microorganisms. The results reveal that applying a chitosan coating effectively maintained the quality attributes and prolonged the shelf life of the sliced papayas.

Keywords

Micronized Chitosan; Papaya; Minimal Processed Fruit; Quality; Shelf Life

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	R. E. Paull and N. J. Chen, “Postharvest Variation in Cell Wall-Degrading Enzymes of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) during Fruit Ripening,” Plant Physiology, Vol. 72, No. 2, 1983, pp. 382-385. , ”doi:10.1104/pp.72.2.382
[2]	E. K. Akamine and T. Goo, “Relationship between Sur face Colour Development and Total Soluble Solids in Pa paya,” HortScience, Vol. 6, 1971, pp. 567-568.
[3]	J. F. An and R. E. Paull, “Storage Temperature and Eth ylene Influence on Ripening of Papaya Fruit,” Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, Vol. 115, No. 6, 1990, pp. 949-953.
[4]	R. E. Paull and W. Chen, “Minimal Processing of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) and the Physiology of Halved Fruit,” Postharvest Biology and Technology, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1997, pp. 93-99. doi:10.1016/S0925-5214(97)00030-6
[5]	R. S. Rolle and G. W. Chism, “Physiological Conse quences of Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables,” Journal of Food Quality, Vol. 10, No. 3, 1987, pp. 157 177. , ”doi:10.1111/j.1745-4557.1987.tb00856.x
[6]	A. D. King and H. R. Bolin, “Physiological and Microbi ological Storage Stability of Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables,” Food Technology, Vol. 43, 1989, pp. 132-136.
[7]	A. E. Watada, K. Abe and N. Yamuchi, “Physiological Activities of Partially Processed Fruits and Vegetables,” Food Technology, Vol. 44, 1990, pp. 116-122.
[8]	R. E. O’Connor-Shaw, R. Roberts, A. L. Ford and S. M. Nottingham, “Shelf Life of Minimally Processed Honeydew, Kiwifruit, Papaya, Pineapple and Cantaloupe,” Jour nal of Food Science, Vol. 59, No. 6, 1994, pp. 1202-1206. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1994.tb14676.x
[9]	B. Tovar, H. S. Garcia and M. Mata, “Physiology of Pre Cut Mango. II. Evolution of Organic Acids,” Food Re search International, Vol. 34, No. 8, 2001, pp. 705-714. doi:10.1016/S0963-9969(01)00092-8
[10]	E. A. Baldwin, M. O. Nisperos-Carried and R. A. Baker, “Use of Edible Coating for Lightly Processed Fruits and Vegetables,” HortScience, Vol. 30, 1995, pp. 35-38.
[11]	S. Hirano, Y. Ohe and H. One, “Selective N-Acetylation of Chitosan,” Carbohydrate Research, Vol. 47, No. 2, 1976, pp. 315-320. doi:10.1016/S0008-6215(00)84198-1
[12]	S. Hirano, C. Itakura, H. Seino, Y. Akiyama , I. Nonata and N. Kanbara , “Chitosan as an Ingredient for Domestic Animal Feeds,” Journal of Agriculture and Food Chem istry, Vol. 38, 1990, pp. 1214-1217.
[13]	A. El Ghaouth, J. Arul, J. Grenier and A. Asselin, “Anti fungal Activity of Chitosan on Two Postharvest Patho gens of Strawberry Fruits,” Phytopathology, Vol. 82, No. 4, 1992, pp. 398-402. , ”doi:10.1094/Phyto-82-398
[14]	P. J. Chien, F. Sheu and H. R. Lin , “Quality Assessment of Low Molecular Weight Chitosan Coating on Sliced Red Pitayas,” Journal of Food Engineering, Vol. 79, No. 2, 2007, pp. 736-740. , ”doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2006.02.047
[15]	P. J. Chien, F. Sheu and F. H. Yang, “Effects of Edible Chitosan Coating on Quality and Shelf Life of Sliced Mango Fruit,” Journal of Food Engineering, Vol. 78, No. 1, 2007, pp. 225-229. , ”doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.09.022
[16]	A. El Ghaouth, J. Arul, R. Ponnamapalam and M. Boulet, “Chitosan Coating Effect on Storability and Quality of Fresh Strawberries,” Journal of Food Science, Vol. 56, No. 6, 1991, pp. 1618-1620. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1991.tb08655.x
[17]	Y. Jiang and Y. Li, “Effects of Chitosan Coating on Postharvest Life and Quality of Longan Fruit,” Food Chemistry, Vol. 73, No. 2, 2001, pp. 143-159. doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(00)00246-6
[18]	R. H. Chen and H. D. Hwa, “Effect of Molecular Weight of Chitosan with the Same Degree of Deacetylation on the Thermal, Mechanical, and Permeability Properties of the Prepared Membrane,” Carbohydrate Polymers, Vol. 29, No. 4, 1996, pp. 353-358. doi:10.1016/S0144-8617(96)00007-0
[19]	C. Muzzarelli and R. A. Muzzarelli, “Natural and Artifi cial Chitosan-Inorganic Composites,” Journal of Inor ganic Biochemistry, Vol. 92, No. 2, 2002, pp. 89-94. doi:10.1016/S0162-0134(02)00486-5
[20]	Y. J. Jeon, P. J. Park and S. K. Kim, “Antimicrobial Ef fect of Chitooligosaccharides Produced by Bioreactor,” Carbohydrate Polymers, Vol. 44, No. 1, 2001, pp. 71-76. doi:10.1016/S0144-8617(00)00200-9