Postharvest application of an edible coating based on chitosan and gum Arabic for controlling respiration rate and vitamin C content of chilli (Capsicum frustecens L.)

Abstract

Abstract Chili (Capsicum frutescens L.) is the most important vegetable cum spice grown in tropical and sub tropical regions of the world. The post-harvest handling of chilli must be done well so that the quality is maintained. One way of handling post-harvest is to use edible coating such as chitosan and gum Arabic. The research was aimed to find out the effects of chitosan and gum Arabic coating to control of respiration rate and vitamin C content of post-harvest chilli. The research was conducted using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) factorial consisting of two factors. The first factor consisted of various concentration of chitosan (0%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%) and the second factor consisted of various concentration of gum Arabic (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%) with three replications for each treatment. The coated fruits were then stored at room temperature (28°C) for 15 days. The observed data included respiration rate and vitamin C content. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Varians (ANOVA) and followed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at a 5% confidence level. The results showed that the application of chitosan and gum Arabic coating significantly affected the respiration rate and maintained vitamin C content.