Abstract
Fruits form an important part of a healthy human diet as they contain many ingredients with proven pro-health effects such as vitamins, phenolic compounds, organic acids, fiber, and minerals. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effect of pullulan coating on the quality and shelf life of highbush blueberry during storage. General appearance, weight loss, dry matter, soluble solid content, reducing sugars, content of L-ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds (total phenolics, phenolics acids and anthocyanins) were determined in uncoated and coated blueberries fruits. The microbiological efficiency of pullulan coating was also evaluated. All parameters were monitored during storage at 4 °C and 16 °C by 28 and 14 days, respectively. The study showed that pullulan coating protects perishable food products especially susceptible to mechanical injury including fruits such as blueberries. Pullulan acts as a barrier that minimizes respiration rate, delaying deterioration and controlling microbial growth.
Highlights
Fruits form an important part of a healthy human diet as they contain many ingredients with proven pro-health effects such as vitamins, phenolic compounds, organic acids, fiber, and minerals.Natural antioxidants—such as vitamin C, anthocyanins, and polyphenols—which play an important role in the prevention of development of civilization diseases, are important in human nutrition [1,2,3]
We evaluated the influence of pullulan coating on qualitative and quantitative losses of blueberries stored at refrigerator temperature (4 ◦ C) and commercial temperature (16 ◦ C) for 28 and 14 days, respectively
Pullulan coating protected the fruit from loss of firmness and dehydration, especially when stored at higher temperatures, resulting in reduced weight loss
Summary
Fruits form an important part of a healthy human diet as they contain many ingredients with proven pro-health effects such as vitamins, phenolic compounds, organic acids, fiber, and minerals.Natural antioxidants—such as vitamin C, anthocyanins, and polyphenols—which play an important role in the prevention of development of civilization diseases, are important in human nutrition [1,2,3]. Fruits form an important part of a healthy human diet as they contain many ingredients with proven pro-health effects such as vitamins, phenolic compounds, organic acids, fiber, and minerals. Poland is the fourth (after the United States, Canada, and France) largest producer of the highbush blueberry [7]. Popularity of this fruit among consumers is constantly increasing due to its high nutritional value and good sensory qualities. These fruits are rich in polyphenols that are antioxidants, especially anthocyanins, flavonols, catechins, and phenolic acids [6]. Introduction of blueberries into our diet shows positive health benefits such as prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases [8,9,10]
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