Abstract
An investigation was conducted to evaluate the impact of different concentrations of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC; 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0%) and methyl cellulose (MC; 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0%) on quality of strawberry cv. Winter Dawn stored at 11 ± 1°C and 70–75% RH for up to 12 days. Weight loss, decay, firmness, juice content, soluble solids content, total and reducing sugars, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content, total phenolics, total flavonoids, total antioxidant activity, total carotenoids content, total anthocyanin content, pectin methylesterase activity and organoleptic sensory attributes were measured. MC at 1.0% was the most effective treatment to maintain fruit quality, maintaining and reducing pectin methylesterase activity compared with untreated fruit. Overall, MC at 1.0% extended the post-harvest life and maintained the quality strawberry cv. Winter Dawn under cold storage conditions for up to 12 days.