STORAGE OF MOMBIN FRUITS COATED WITH CASSAVA STARCH AND PVC FILM

RAIMUNDA VALDENICE DA SILVA FREITAS,EVANDO LUIZ COELHO,FRANCISCO XAVIER DE SOUZA,PAHLEVI AUGUSTO DE SOUZA,HIRLLEN NARA BESSA RODRIGUES BESERRA

doi:10.1590/1983-21252017v30n127rc

Abstract

ABSTRACT The mombin tree (Spondias mombin L.) is found in almost all regions of Brazil. Fresh and processed mombin fruits are increasingly demanded by the market. The objective of this work was to evaluate the post-harvest characteristics of mombin fruits coated with cassava starch and PVC film. Fruits from the mombin cultivar Lagoa-Redonda were harvested at physiological maturity in Limoeiro do Norte, State of Ceará, transported to the Chemistry Laboratory of the Ceará Federal Institute, Limoeiro do Norte campus, and stored for 8 days at 29.7°C and 59% of relative humidity. A completely randomized experimental design in a 3x5 factorial arrangement was used, with three coating types (control, cassava starch at 3%, and cassava starch at 3% combined with PVC film) and five storage times (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 days), four replicates and five fruits per plot. The fruit skin color, external appearance, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), SS/TA ratio and weight loss were evaluated. The PVC film was effective in maintaining the fruit external appearance and decreasing weight loss. The use of cassava starch was not as efficient as the PVC film for conserving mombin fruits. The post-harvest life of fruits was 8 days for those treated with cassava starch or cassava starch combined with PVC film, and 6 days for the control.

Highlights

Mombin (Spondias mombin L., Anacardiaceae) is a high, tropical, woody, deciduous fruit tree, which has a long, straight trunk covered by a thick and rough bark, with branches at the top (SOUZA; BLEICHER, 2002)
The soluble solids (SS) and weight loss were affected by the coating types and storage times, and the soluble solids, weight loss and SS/titratable acidity (TA) ratio were affected by the storage time
Similar results were observed by Lemos et al (2007), who evaluated the effects of biofilms of cassava starch at concentrations of 3, 4 and 5% on the preservation of Magali-R peppers under two storage conditions, and found that the biofilm did not reduce the weight loss at room temperature, while under refrigeration, the fruits treated with the biofilm lost more weight than the control

Summary

Introduction

Mombin (Spondias mombin L., Anacardiaceae) is a high, tropical, woody, deciduous fruit tree, which has a long, straight trunk covered by a thick and rough bark, with branches at the top (SOUZA; BLEICHER, 2002) This tree is found in several states of Brazil and its fresh and processed fruits are increasingly demanded by the market, increasing its socio-economic importance and the farmers and agribusinesses interest on its commercial production (SOUSA; INNECO; ARAUJO, 1999). The understanding of the biological and environmental processes involved in this fruit post-harvest deterioration is necessary and can be used as a basis to develop technologies to increase its post-harvest life and maintain the fruit quality (SAMPAIO et al., 2007) Several conservation methods, such as cooling and modified atmosphere (VILA et al., 2007) are widely used to preserve the quality of fruits, which contribute to the reduction of post-harvest losses, by reducing the metabolic activity and water loss, maintaining their commercial characteristics. The use of modified atmosphere as a complementary measure to cooling, promotes a decrease in the fruit respiratory rate by increasing the CO2 and decreasing the O2 levels in the storage environment (RAI; OBEROI; BABOO, 2002)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion