Citral nanocontainers applied to guava fruits (Psidium Guajava L.) in postharvesting

Abstract

The guava (Psidium guajava L.), is a nutritious fruit which is of climacteric nature and highly perishable. This fruit is grown in Santander and Boyacá and 90% of its use is in the agro-based industry. Post-harvest losses of this fruit have a great impact on the economy of the region. In order to prolong the shelf life of the fruit, a post-harvest treatment based on the encapsulation of 3 mM Citral in liposomal nanocontainers composed of 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid and Lecithin was devised. The characterization of the nanocontainers encapsulating Citral was performed by fluorescence and DLS spectroscopy. The treatment's effectiveness in the fruits was evaluated for 15 days using the following parameters: weight loss, color, total soluble solids, acidity, ripening index, and Vitamin C concentration. The results show a better appearance in the treated fruits with respect to untreated fruits (Blank) for up to 12 days of storage.