Assessment of using Aloe vera gel alone and in combination with lemongrass essential oil as coating materials for strawberry fruits: HPLC and EDX analyses
Hassan, HS; EL-Hefny, M; Ghoneim, IM; et al.Abd El-Lahot, MSR; Akrami, M; Al-Huqail, AA; Ali, HM; Abd-Elkader, DY
Date: 6 April 2022
Journal
Coatings
Publisher
MDPI
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Strawberry is a non-climacteric fruit but exhibits a limited postharvest life due to rapid
softening and decay. A strawberry coating that is natural and safe for human consumption can be
used to improve the appearance and safeguard the fruits. In this study, 20% and 40% Aloe vera gel
alone or in combination with 1% lemongrass essential ...
Strawberry is a non-climacteric fruit but exhibits a limited postharvest life due to rapid
softening and decay. A strawberry coating that is natural and safe for human consumption can be
used to improve the appearance and safeguard the fruits. In this study, 20% and 40% Aloe vera gel
alone or in combination with 1% lemongrass essential oil (EO) was used as an edible coating for
strawberries. After application of all the treatments, the strawberry fruits were stored at a temperature
of 5 ± 1
◦C at a relative humidity (RH) of 90%–95% for up to 16 days and all the parameters were
analyzed and compared to control (uncoated fruits). The results show that A. vera gel alone or with
lemongrass EO reduced the deterioration and increased the shelf life of the fruit. Treatment with
A. vera gel and lemongrass EO decreased acidity and total anthocyanins and maintained fruit firmness.
Treatment with A. vera gel 40% + lemongrass EO 1% led to the lowest weight loss, retained firmness
and acidity, but increased the total soluble solids and total anthocyanins compared to uncoated
fruits during storage of up to 16 days. The phenolic compounds of A. vera gel were analyzed
by HPLC, and the most abundant compounds were found to be caffeic (30.77 mg/mL), coumaric
(22.4 mg/mL), syringic (15.12 mg/mL), sinapic (14.05 mg/mL), ferulic (8.22 mg/mL), and cinnamic
acids (7.14 mg/mL). Lemongrass EO was analyzed by GC–MS, and the most abundant compounds
were identified as α-citral (neral) (40.10%) β-citral (geranial) (30.71%), γ-dodecalactone (10.24%),
isoneral (6.67%), neryl acetal (5.64%), and linalool (1.77%). When the fruits were treated with 20% or
40% A. vera gel along with 1% lemongrass, their total phenolic content was maintained during the
storage period (from 4 to 8 days). The antioxidant activity was relatively stable during the 8 days of
cold storage of the fruits coated with A. vera gel combined with lemongrass EO because the activity of
both 20% and 40% gel was greater than that for the other treatments after 12 days of storage in both
experiments. Moreover, all the treatments resulted in lower numbers of total microbes at the end of
the storage period compared with the control treatment. This study indicates that the use of Aloe vera
gel with lemongrass EO as an edible coating considerably enhances the productivity of strawberry
fruits and the treatment could be used on a commercial scale
Engineering
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy
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