Active Edible Coating to Maintain the Quality of Fresh Mango

R. Sothornvit and P. Klangmuang

Department of Food Engineering
Faculty of Engineering at Kamphaengsaen/
Postharvest Technology Innovation Center
Kasetsart University
Nakhonpathom 73140
Thailand

Keywords: Mangifera indica, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, antimicrobial, anthracnose

Abstract
Mango is a climacteric and generally highly perishable fruit. Anthracnose
disease is the main limitation to export mango. Edible coating on mango may slow
down the rate of deterioration and reduce the anthracnose problem. The objective of
this study was to determine the effect of an active edible coating amended with plai
(P) (Zingiber cassumunar) essential oil (EO) on the postharvest quality of fresh
mangoes. A hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)-based composite solution with
or without plai EO was selected as edible coating to be applied on mango. Plai EO
was incorporated into the HPMC-based edible coating to enhance the antimicrobial
activity against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, which is the cause of anthracnose.
Fresh ‘Namdokmai Sithong’ mangoes were dipped in the active HPMC-based edible
coating solution for 2 min, dried in a hot air oven at 40°C for 30 min and then stored
at 13°C. Uncoated-untreated and water dipped mangoes were used as control
treatments. Thus, the treatments studied were uncoated, water dipped, HPMC
coating and HPMC-P coating. The edible HPMC-based coatings (HPMC and
HPMC-P coatings) reduced weight loss, delayed firmness loss and external color
changes and decreased disease severity of fresh mango compared to untreated and
water dipped treatments. The incorporation of plai EO into the coating did not
further improve antimicrobial activity of HPMC alone. Storage life of active edible
coated mangoes was extended to 18 days at 13°C.
INTRODUCTION
Thailand is an important exporter of tropical fruits such as mango (Mangifera
indica Linn.). ‘Namdokmai Sithong’ mango is the most popular cultivar. However,
anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is the most important disease of
mango in humid production areas limiting international trading. Edible films and coatings
have shown to reduce quality losses and extend the shelf life of many fruits such as fresh
mangoes (Baldwin et al., 1999; Sothornvit and Rodsamran, 2008) and fresh-cut mangoes
(Sothornvit and Rodsamran, 2008, 2010). Among the edible film and coating materials,
hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) provides a uniform film and coating and has
been shown to extend the shelf life of citrus fruit by reducing weight and firmness loss
and reducing respiration rate (Valencia-Chamorro et al., 2011; Contreras-Oliva et al.,
2011, 2012).
However, HPMC does not have the potential to prevent postharvest decay,
requiring the addition in the coating formulation of natural or synthetic food additives and
substances listed as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) with antifungal activity such as
potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate or sodium propionate (Valencia-Chamorro et al.,
2010, 2011). Among the naturally occurring antimicrobial compounds, essential oils have
gained popularity to control postharvest decay in fruit. Thus for example, thyme and
Mexican lime essential oils incorporated to mesquite gum emulsions inhibited
anthracnose in papaya (Bosquez-Molina et al., 2010) and lemongrass and cinnamon oils
in gum Arabic edible coating controlled anthracnose and quality of banana and papaya
during cold storage (Maqbool et al., 2011).

Proc. Vth International Conference Postharvest Unlimited 473

Eds.: G.A. Manganaris et al.
Acta Hort. 1079, ISHS 2015
 Plai (Zingiber cassumnar) is an important herb and well-known for its medicinal
properties and health benefits. Plai consists of active chemicals such as sabiene and
terpinen-4-ol which are major compounds that contribute in antimicrobial activity
(Pithayanukul et al., 2007). However, no study has been reported on the effect of plai EO
in edible coatings to control decay of fruits. The objective of this study was to develop an
active HPMC-based edible coating incorporated with plai EO on the control of
anthracnose and the physico-chemical quality of ‘Namdokmai Sithong’ mango during
cold storage.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials
Fresh mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) (110 d from fruit set) were obtained from an
orchard in Nakhonpathom province, Thailand. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)
type K4M by Dow Chemical (USA) was purchased from Vicchi Enterprise Co. Ltd.,
(Bangkok, Thailand). Beeswax (BW), stearic acid (SA), and glycerol (Gly) were obtained
from Fluka Co. Ltd. (Buchs, Germany), Ajax FineChemicals Co. Ltd., (Sydney,
Australia), and Ajax FineChemicals Co. Ltd. (Auckland, New Zealand), respectively. An
organically modified montmorillonite (MMT) (Cloisite 30B) was obtained from Southern
Clay Co. Ltd. (Gonzales, TX, USA). Plai (Zingiber cassumnar) essential oil (EO)
extracted by steam distillation method was purchased from Thai China Flavours and
Fragrances Industry Co. (Ayuttaya, Thailand).

Active Edible Coating Preparation and Application on Fresh Mangoes

An HPMC-based composite coating solution was prepared by dissolving 2.0%
w/w in distilled water using a hot/cold technique incorporated with glycerol
(HPMC:glycerol = 3:1), 40% BW (dry basis) (HPMC:BW = 4:1) and SA (BW:SA = 4:1).
Two coatings were prepared: with or without plai EO (P) at 15,000 mg/L. Fresh mangoes
were selected with uniform size, color and average weight (ca. 350 g), without any
blemishes, disease or insect intrusion. Pretreatment was applied to mangoes by cutting
some stem and rubber out, and then mangoes were washed with 0.05% sodium
hypochlorite and rinsed with clean water prior to coating application. Treatments were:
(1) uncoated-control, (2) water dipped, (3) HPMC-based coating (HPMC), and (4)
HPMC-plai EO coating (HPMC+P). Samples of fresh mango were dipped in the edible
coating solutions at 20°C for 2 min and dried in a hot air oven at 40°C without surface
damage or browning taking place. Uncoated-control and water dipped mangoes were also
subjected to the same drying conditions. Quality of fresh mango was determined after
coating. Fresh mangoes were stored at 13±2°C and 55±5% relative humidity. Quality of
mango was assessed every 3 days for 18 days. Fifty samples per replicate were used to
determine the fruit quality during storage.

Quality of Fresh Mangoes

Weight loss was measured every 3 days by weighing the fruit. Color
measurements were made with a Spectrophotometer (Spectro-guide sphere gloss, model
CD-6834, BYK-Gardner GmbH; Geretsried, Germany) on mango skin using the CIELAB
color parameters L* and a*. Firmness was determined by using a texture analyzer with
500 N load cell (LLOYD, model LR 5K, Hampshire, UK). Firmness was determined as
the maximum force in Newton (N) required to penetrate the fruit flesh with a 2 mm
diameter plunger. Three tests per fruit were made on top, middle and bottom part of the
fruit and the average is reported. Soluble solids content (SSC) of fruit juice was
determined using a refractometer (Atago, model N1, Japan). The degree of disease
severity in mango fruit was assessed by using the follow qualitative scale: 1 = perfect and
no disease, 2 = black spots area ≤40 mm2, 3 = black spots area in between 40-60 mm2 and
4 = black spots area ≥60 mm2.

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Statistical Analysis
A completely randomized experimental design was used to study treatment and
storage time effects. Three replicates and 5-10 fruits per measurement were used to
determine each quality parameter. SPSS for Windows software program (Release 9.0.0;
SPSS Inc., 1999) was utilized to calculate analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the
general linear models procedure.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

‘Namdokmai Sithong’ mangoes show a yellow skin color at the unripe stage, that
evolves into a golden yellow color when they ripe. All coated mangoes showed a thin and
transparent film with glossy appearance on the surface. Visual quality of mangoes was
not changed by any treatment during the first 12 days of storage at 13°C. This might be
the effect of cold storage temperature. All HPMC-based composite edible coating
extended the storage life of fresh mangoes to 18 days compared to uncoated and water
dipped mangoes with 15 days storage life.
As expected, the weight loss increased with storage time (Fig. 1). Uncoated and
water dipped mangoes had higher weight loss than coated samples (p<0.05), which
indicates that the HPMC-based coating provided a barrier to water vapor. Comparing with
uncoated, HPMC-P-based composite edible coating exhibited the weight loss less than
using only HPMC-based composite coating. This might be due to the hydrophobic
character of plai EO, that might have enhanced the moisture barrier of the coating. Water
dipped mangoes showed the highest weight loss. This might be due to the removal of
natural wax of mango during washing. Similar results were observed in coated guavas
(Sothornvit, 2013).
SSC increased with time (Fig. 2) due to the hydrolysis of starch to sugars (Wills et
al., 2007). SSC indicates mango fruit maturation (Sivakumar et al., 2011). The increase in
SSC of coated mango was lower than in uncoated and water dipped samples from Day 9
until the end of storage. Similar results have been reported on mango fruit coated with a
cellulose-based coating (Baldwin et al., 1999) or wrapped with a mango-based film
(Sothornvit and Rodsamran, 2008).
Firmness of mango decreased during storage (Fig. 3). Firmness loss in mangoes
has been attributed to the action of polygalacturonase and pectinesterase on pectin
solubilization (Lakshminarayana, 1980). The soft texture of fruit and vegetables is due to
many factors such as the loss in cell turgor pressure, vascular air and the degradation of
cell wall constituents and polysaccharides. The uncoated and water dipped mangoes had
84% of their firmness lost at the end of shelf life (Day 15). Whereas, the HPMC-based
edible composite coating, with or without plai EO, maintained the mango firmness losing
only 33-34% of their firmness at Day 15, and HPMC-based coated mangoes retained at
least 47% of their initial firmness at Day 18. Firmness decreased with fruit ripening and
and related to the weight loss of mangoes, as previously found in mango (Sothornvit and
Rodsamran, 2008) and guava (Sothornvit, 2013).
Anthracnose appears as black spots and streaks on mango skin (Snowdon, 1990).
The HPMC-based edible composite coatings helped reduce postharvest decay of mango
(Fig. 4). The first symptoms of decay occurred after Day 6 and Day 9 for uncoated or
water dipped and for coated mangoes, respectively. Similar results were found with
cellulose-based polysaccharide edible coating and carnauba wax coating on mango
(Baldwin et al., 1999). The incorporation of plai EO into the coating did not further
improve antimicrobial activity of HPMC alone; even though, plai EO consists of active
chemicals such as sabiene and terpinen-4-ol, which are major compounds and contribute
in antimicrobial activity (Pithayanukul et al., 2007).
Skin color is a very important quality attribute for consumers that affect purchase
or acceptance of fruits and vegetables (Sivakumar et al., 2011). Lightness (L*) of
mangoes decreased as storage time increased, whereas a* and b* increased (Fig. 5). Skin
L* values of uncoated and water dipped mangoes dramatically decreased at Day 12, but
L* values of coated mangoes were maintained. Skin a* values showed a significant

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increase by Day 12 and 15 for uncoated and coated samples, respectively (Fig. 5B).
‘Namdokmai Sithong’ mangoes possess yellow skin color at the harvest/unripe stage due
to the high carotenoid content (Sivakumar et al., 2011). The addition of plai EO into the
HPMC-based edible coating did not affect skin color compared to the HPMC-based
coating without plai EO.

CONCLUSIONS
The HPMC-based edible coatings (HPMC and HPMC-P coatings) reduced weight
loss, delayed firmness loss, external color changes and disease severity of fresh mango
compared to untreated and water dipped treatments. The incorporation of plai EO into the
coating did not further reduce disease severity caused by anthracnose. The shelf life of
active edible coated mangoes was extended to 18 days at 13°C.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the Kasetsart University Research Development Institute
(KURDI), Faculty of Engineering for the financial support throughout this research,
including the Faculty of Engineering at Kamphaengsaen for traveling support.

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Figures

Fig. 1. Effect of HPMC-based composite coating incorporated with plai oil on weight loss
of mango during storage at 13°C. Error bars show standard deviation.

477
Fig. 2. Effect of HPMC-based composite coating incorporated with plai oil on soluble
solids content (%) of mangoes during storage at 13°C. Error bars show standard
deviation.

Fig. 3. Effect of HPMC-based composite coating incorporated with plai oil and storage
time on firmness of mango stored at 13°C. Error bars show standard deviation.

478
Fig. 4. Effect of HPMC-based composite coating incorporated with plai oil on the degree
of disease severity of mangoes during storage at 13°C (1 = perfect and 4 = severe
symptoms). Error bars show standard deviation.

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 (A)

(B)

Fig. 5. Effect of HPMC-based composite coating incorporated with plai oil on skin color
L* and a* of mango during storage at 13°C. Error bars show standard deviation.

480