Effects of aloe vera gel-based edible films on physicochemical characteristics and storage life of bell pepper

• Effects of aloe vera gel-based edible coating functionalized with glycerol and oleic acid were investigated on the postharvest characteristics and shelf life of bell peppers. • The bell peppers coated with aloe vera gel, glycerol, and oleic acid retained higher postharvest and quality attributes in bell pepper maximum moisture content, vitamin C throughout the storage periods. • Combined aloe vera gel, glycerol, and oleic acid solution-coated bell peppers were more acceptable in terms of appearance, shelf life, and quality of bell peppers during storage. The present investigation was carried out to study the effects of postharvest treatments of aloe vera gel, glycerol, and oleic acid to extend the shelf life and minimize the nutrient component losses. The experiment comprised five treatments, viz., control (T), 100% aloe vera gel solution (T 1 ), aloe vera + 3% glycerol solution (T 2 ), aloe vera + 1% oleic acid solution (T 3 ), aloe vera + 3% glycerol + 1% oleic acid solution (T 4 ). There was significant (p≤0.05) variation among the treatments concerning shelf life and fruit quality characteristics such as weight loss, color, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, moisture content, dry matter content, and vitamin C. The weight loss, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity of bell pepper increased, whereas vitamin C content decreased over time. In this experiment, the bell pepper fruits coated with the T 4 treatment recorded maximum moisture content (89.77%), vitamin C (96.8 mg/100g), and red color retention with the least TSS (9° Brix), followed by T 3 , T 2, and T 1 . The control bell pepper exhibited the minimum moisture content (85.55%), vitamin C (52.8 mg/100g), and red color retention with the highest TSS (11° Brix). In the case of shelf life, control showed only 6 days, whereas T 4 extended the shelf life to 21 days, which was 3.5 times higher than the control. However, T 2 scored the highest value in terms of sensory evaluation. Therefore, T 2 , T 4 treatments seem to be a good substitute to increase shelf life and retain the quality of bell pepper.