Alginate Cross-Linking Based Edible Coatings Enriched Hexyl Acetate:
Browning Inhibition, Microbial Control and Maintain Quality of FreshCut Rose Apple Cv. 'Tabtimchan'

The edible coating is one of the eco-friendly methods that has been widely applied for extending the shelf

life of fresh-cut fruit products including rose apple. However, using only edible coating materials does not

fulfill the functions of controlling microbial growth and managing the postharvest quality of the products.

This study aimed to develop the coating formulation of biodegradable Sodium Alginate Cross-Linking

(SAC) enriched Hexyl Acetate (HA) (HA as natural antimicrobial volatile extracted) for prolong the shelflife of fresh-cut rose apples. Fresh-cut rose apples were dipped into SAC, HA alone (HA-0.03%), or SAC

enriched 0.03% of HA (SAC-HA-0.03%) for 1.5 min, and then stored at 4°C in plastic boxes compared

to distilled water dipping served as the control. Changes in postharvest quality, sensory properties as well

as microbiological analysis were determined every 2 days for 10 days. The results showed that both of SAC

and SAC-HA-0.03% samples had greater acceptance and quality than the control and HA-0.03% alone.

SAC-HA-0.03% maintained the freshness appearance and reduced the Browning Index (BI) by decreasing

Polyphenol Oxidase (POP) and Peroxidase (POD) activity in comparison with SAC alone. The highest Total

Phenolics (TP), antioxidant, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity were found in samples coated with

SAC-HA-0.03%. In addition, coated fresh-cut rose apples with SAC-HA-0.03% delayed the loss of Total

Soluble Solids (TSS) and Titratable Acidity (TA), maintained firmness, and inhibited the growth of Total

Plate Count (TPC), yeasts and moulds and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Finally, in sensory evaluation, SACHA-0.03% coating improved the aroma of fresh-cut rose apples with the highest overall acceptance score.

Thus, SAC-HA-0.03% is the best coating formulation to preserve fruit quality characteristics leading to an

increase in the shelf-life of fresh-cut rose apples of up to 10 days at 4°C.