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Influence Of Different Herbal Edible Coatings On Fruits Crops

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1Navya Priya, 2Anis Mirza, 3Namana Suresh

Abstract

ABSTRACT: One of the serious problems faced by our nation is the post-harvest losses of fresh produce due to rapid deterioration of the fresh produce during both pre and postharvest conditions, and in turn affecting the quality of fruits. Herbal edible coating is a novel or unique solution to this problem. The major purpose of the above invention is to increase the shelf life of fresh fruits through the application of herbal natural coating on the fruit surface. It is an effective method to improve the quality and thus, increase shelflife of the fruits. They can be consumed safely as a part of our food because of their antimicrobial properties. Presently there is increasing demand for use of extracts obtained from herbs like that of neem, lemongrass, aloe, tulsi, cinnamon, mint and clove as edible material for coating on fruits due to their nutraceutical and beneficial properties. They are developed from corn starch by incorporating it into aqueous Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) leaf extract. Corn starch is a polysaccharide derived from Maize (Corn-Zea mays) and beeswax is a lipid based material that has the ability to prevent the moisture and gases loss. Tulsi used for medicinal purposes from many years, its leave extract have numerous health benefits such as antidiabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant and many others in addition to acts as a natural preservative. Tulsi (O. sanctum), corn starch and beeswax are natural components of herbal edible coating which is fit for human consumption. It have been shown to prevent water loss, control ripening process, delay oxidative browning, controls respiration rate, & reduces microbial growth in fruits such as papaya, grapes, orange, apple & mango. These herbal edible coatings increases the storage time at low temperatures and it also increase the shelf-life of fresh produce whereas all uncoated fruits will be decayed. Thus, herbal extracts are being studied increasingly as an additive in edible coatings on fruits as aninnovative approach for the commercial application and as an alternative for the post-harvest treatments with chemicals on fruits resulting in increased shelf-life.

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