Use of Chitosan and Essential Oils as Edible Coating for Sapodilla Fruit (Manilkara zapota)

Abstract

Sapodilla fruit (Manilkara zapota) is one of the annual tropical fruit plants that have a shelf life of only 3-4 days at room temperature. One way to extend the shelf life of fruit is by coating. Chitosan has an excellent potential to be applied as an edible coating. The addition of essential oils, namely Vanilla and Betel, is expected to improve the characteristics of the edible coating and act as an antimicrobial and antioxidant. This research was conducted to extend the shelf life of Sapodilla fruit using Chitosan, adding Vanilla and Betel as a coating material. This research was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with a single factor design consisting of four treatments with three replications. The treatments included: K0 = Control, K1 = Chitosan, K2 = Chitosan+Vanilla, K3 = Chitosan+Betel. The results showed that using edible coatings can reduce fruit weight loss, maintain vitamin C levels, and lower reduced sugar levels. And did not reveal its effect on the fruit hardness, total titrated acid, and total dissolved solids. Edible coating with Chitosan+Vanilla is the most effective treatment to extend the shelf life of Sapodilla fruit, maintaining a shelf life of seven days.