Impact of antimicrobial NC-AXAc biodegradable packaging material for shelf-life extension of cherry tomatoes

Abstract

Cherry tomatoes have gained immense interest due to their convenient size, delightful taste, and nutritional profile. Cherry tomatoes are highly perishable and are considered climacteric with lower shelf-life. In the present study, cherry tomatoes were packed with nanocellulose (NC)-arabinoxylan acetate (AXAc) packaging (50:50, 40:60 w/w) containing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as an antimicrobial agent. Further, the efficacy of AgNPs incorporated antimicrobial NC-AXAc packaging was evaluated for the post-harvest shelf-life improvement of cherry tomatoes during 15 days of storage at 25 °C (±2) and 85% RH. It was observed that NC-AXAc packaging (with and without AgNPs) were found to significantly reduce the weight loss, respiration rate, color degradation, process of fruit softening, ripening index, and enzymatic activity (PPO and POD), as compared to unpacked tomatoes and tomatoes stored with commercial biodegradable packaging during storage. Furthermore, NC-AXAc packaging (with and without AgNPs) were significantly maintained the lycopene content, organic acids, sugar content, and volatile content in stored cherry tomatoes. Moreover, tomatoes packed with AgNPs incorporated NC-AXAc (50:50, 40:60 w/w) packaging exhibited maximum inhibitory effect against total mesophilic count and Yeast/Mold count compared to unpacked and other packed tomatoes. The overall findings revealed the potential benefits of AgNPs incorporated NC-AXAc biodegradable packaging for the shelf-life extension of cherry tomatoes especially during storage and transport.