Abstract:
Apple masan (Ziziphus mauritiana) is a perishable fruit and has a relatively short
shelf-life of 2-4 days at room temperature. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate
the shelf-life extension of the apple masan after the application of wax coating and
modified atmosphere packaging. In the first experiment, the effects of wax coating on
the physicochemical and qualitative attributes of apple masan fruits were investigated
during storage at room temperature (25±2◦C) for seven days. The wax coating consisted
of palm oil (3%), guar gum (2%), polysorbate tween 20 (2%), glycerol (30%), and
distilled water (63%) according to volume-to-volume ratio. The apple masan coated
with 1:1 diluted wax showed the lowest weight loss percentage (1.65±0.040%) and decay
index percentage (1.49±0.031%). Moreover, wax coating delayed the change of skin color
and ensured firmness in apple masan. In the second experiment, apple masan coated
with 1:1 diluted wax and non-waxed apple masan were packed in modified atmosphere
packaging (MAP) using low-density polyethylene (LDPE; 150 gauge) and was able to
keep at room temperature (25±2◦C) with 77% relative humidity for nine days. The apple
masan packed with LDPE was used as a control (T1). The KMnO4 sachets were used
as an ethylene absorbent in the packages. The LDPE-packed absorbent containing nonwaxed
fruits (T2) showed less weight loss, low decay index, less chlorophyll degradation,
and firmer color intensities than that of other treatments. The other treatments include
LDPE packed and waxed (T3), and LDPE packed, waxed and absorbent contained (T4)
fruit samples. These results confirmed that LDPE packed with absorbent contained nonwaxing
could be an effective means to contribute to the shelf-life extension and quality
parameters of apple masan fruit stored at room temperature (25±2◦C).
