Effectiveness of Some Edible Coatings on Storage Ability of Zaghloul Date Palm Fruits

Abstract

Effectiveness of edible coatings such as Jojoba oil (JO) at 5%, Arabic gum (AG) at 10% and Paraffin oil (PA) at 7.5% as solely or in combination on physical and chemical characteristics of Zaghloul date palm fruits stored at 0±1C° and R.H. 85-90 % for 6 weeks were investigated during two successive seasons (2018 and 2019). The achieved data registered that all tested treatments prolonged the cold storage period of Zaghloul date palm fruits as compared to the control (Tap water). Fruits treated with JO at 5% combined with AG at 10% significantly recorded the highest responses, where it significantly mitigated the rise in decay incidence and reduced weight loss, and maintained high firmness, total phenol content, total flavonoids, total tannins, total sugars and antioxidant activity. Also, the result of ion leakage detected that this treatment protected the cell membrane integrity. According to these results, Jojoba oil (JO) at 5% combined with Arabic gum (AG) at 10% application could be suggested to maintain the storability during cold storage of Zaghloul date palm fruits.