Abstract
Peaches are known for their palatable flavor and abundant nutrients. However, peaches are perishable, and the existing preservation techniques for peaches are still immature. To further extend the shelf life and prevent nutrient loss of perishable peaches under ambient temperature in summer (approximately 25–32 °C), we conducted experiments wrapping peaches (Prunus persica cv ‘Baihua’) in single- and composite-treated vegetal fibrous papers that contained calcium carbonate, phytic acid, Na-alginate and vitamin C. The pathogenic fungi that primarily caused peach decay during storage belonged to the genera of Penicillium, Botrytis, Aspergillus, Alternaria, and Rhizopus. After analyzing quality attributes, including weight loss, firmness, soluble sugar content, respiration rate, relative electric conductivity, malonaldehyde content, peroxidase activity and the decay index, we proved that vitamin C within the preservative paper greatly contributes to peach preservation. Combined with phytic acid and Na-alginate, the composite vitamin C preservative papers played significant roles in delaying fruit senescence, and 0.4% (w/v) vitamin C preservative paper with 1% Na-alginate could maintain quality and extend shelf life with the best effect. This preservation technique significantly postponed the respiration peak by 2–3 days and is a significant contribution to contemporary commercial production.
Highlights
Preservative paper has been widely applied for fruit preservation, and the production of vegetal fiber paper is more environmental friendly and cheaper than plastic film, which degrades slowly[2]
The postharvest weight loss of fruits is mainly caused by water loss and nutrition consumption in transpiration and respiration[14]
Compared with untreated bare peaches, the external packing of vegetal fibrous paper could form a physical barrier to reduce the evaporation of water and block air exchange to inhibit respiration and nutrient consumption
Summary
Preservative paper has been widely applied for fruit preservation, and the production of vegetal fiber paper is more environmental friendly and cheaper than plastic film, which degrades slowly[2]. Many preservation materials with vegetal fibrous paper have been tested by us and a few of them are used as experimental preservatives in this study. Some studies have found that phytic acid effectively inhibits the decay and browning of apple fruit or juice as an enzyme inhibitor[5]. Based on our rich experience in developing and leveraging green agricultural preservation products, the objective of this study was to estimate the preservation effect of specified preservatives with vegetal fiber paper on peaches over 6 days (d) of storage at ambient temperature (25–32 °C) in summer. The selected peaches were packaged with different types of preservative paper treated with calcium carbonate, phytic acid, Na-alginate or vitamin C for 6 d. Peaches were packaged with vitamin C paper treated with different concentrations of Na-alginate and phytic acid.
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