Aloe vera gel and Starch Coatings on Organoleptic and Shelf Life of Strawberry Fruits (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.)

Strawberry fruit is highly perishable and spoils rapidly due to contamination by pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms, causing serious reduction in quality. We studied two treatments on shelf-life: 1) Aloe vera gel (AV)-based edible coatings in combination with ascorbic acid (AA) and 2) cassava starch (CS) with potassium sorbate (PS). Strawberries were coated with AV (15 and 25% v/v) + AA (3% w/v) and CS (2 and 3% w/v) + PS (0.1%), while uncoated fruit served as a control. After treatment, fruit weight loss, firmness loss, TSS, titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid content, total anthocyanin, and total microbial count were evaluated at 0, 1, and 3 days of storage (under room temperature) and 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 days of storage (9 ± 1°C, 70 to 80% RH). Compared to uncoated strawberries, all coating treatments significantly (P < 0.01) reduced weight loss, firmness loss, and total bacteria, yeast, and mold. Coated strawberries also had significantly (P < 0.01) higher TSS and ascorbic acid. The treatment with 25% Aloe vera gel was most effective (P < 0.01), resulting in better retention of ascorbic acid and TSS, besides reduced microbial load. The edible coatings were found to reduce postharvest spoilage in strawberry fruits.