Impact of chitosan-aloe vera gel with coconut oil coating on postharvest quality and antioxidant of ‘Gopalbhog’ mango at ambient storage

Mangoes are valuable fruits because of their nutritional value and commercial significance. It ripens rapidly but deteriorates in quality while stored. Therefore, natural and biodegradable materials must be used in post-harvest management to reduce crop losses. Aloe vera (AVG), chitosan (CTS), and coconut oil (CO) either alone or in combinations were tested on mango postharvest features during 12 days’ storage at ambient conditions (27±2°C and 80-85% RH). At the end of storage, coatings (AVG+CTS) reduced weight loss (20.02, 37.88%) and decay (9.52, 18.46%) compared to controls while enhancing fruit quality, especially firmness (3.21, 1.44 Kg cm-2), ascorbic acid (9.25, 5.89 mg 100 g-1), TSS (10.77, 19.5°Brix), acidity (0.46, 0.41%) and pH. Furthermore, coated fruits’ total phenol content and antioxidant activity were substantially higher than those of uncoated fruits. Control fruits exhibited the least activity of CAT and POD enzymes during storage, while coated fruits had the lowest PPO activity. The coated fruit peels discoloured less after storage than the control fruits. CO treatment had a deleterious effect on various measures, possibly due to its high concentration. These findings suggested that the CTS+AVG coating may be efficient at the right dose to retain bioactive components and mango (cv. Gopalbhog) fruit quality after harvest.