Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an annual herbaceous
crop with berries that belongs to the Solanaceae family. It produces fruits of
various sizes and shapes with a smooth epicarp. It originated as wild forms in
the Peru-Ecuador-Bolivia area of South America. It is among the perishable
horticultural products affected by the postharvest practices during the
production chain. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of acacia
gums incorporated with gallic acid and clove oil on physiological and
physicochemical changes in tomatoes during storage at different treatment
ratios and storage conditions. Fresh tomato fruits, harvested at the ripening
stage, were collected from the Iringa municipal market. Gum Arabic particles
were collected from Acacia trees in the Iringa region. Whereby treatment
solutions made of acacia gum incorporated with gallic Acid and clove oil in
combination ratios of T1 (0:0:100), T2 (0.5:0.5:100), T3 (1.0:1.0:98), and T4
(1.5:1.5:97) as gallic acid, clove oil, and acacia gum solution, respectively,
were used as organic coatings to preserve tomatoes. Samples of 120 coated
tomatoes per treatment were then left to dry at ambient temperature, followed
by storage at ambient, in the cold room (16°C), and in a refrigerator (8°C) for
observation for 35 days of the experiment. The Diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)
radical degradation method was used to estimate the antioxidant activity. The
firmness of all fruit samples was measured with a fruit Texture analyser
Brookfield model CT3 10K (0-50 Kgf). All the data were interpreted by one-way
analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Duncan’s multiple-range test using the SPSS
(IBM SPSS Statistics version 26) software package for expressing the
statistical significance. From the results, it was observed that the
antioxidant activity percentage was increased from a value of 19.66±0.000 % to
42.77±5.436 % on average within the initial 14 days of storage; thereafter, it
started decreasing. Meanwhile, the firmness of the tomatoes was maintained
until 28 days of storage, after which it started changing due to respiration.
Treatment T3 (1.0:1.0:98) performed well in maintaining the firmness of tomato
fruits in all storage conditions compared to treatments T1 (0:0:100), T2
(0.5:0.5:98), and T4 (1.5:1.5:97), with an average maximum firmness of T3
(0.24±0.00 N/mm), T1 (0.17±0.00 N/mm), T2 (0.20 ±0.00N/mm), and T4 (0.21±0.00
N/mm), respectively. This indicates the best quality attribute towards the
marketability for preserving the shape and size of the tomato fruits when it
comes to shelf life and customer perception. The study concluded that
post-harvest treatments containing a mixture of Acacia gum, gallic acid, and
clove oil indicated significant effectiveness in preserving the quality of
tomato fruits compared to a solution of only acacia gum in all storage
conditions.
Author(s) Details
Isaka Gerald
Barongereje
Department of Food Science and Agro-Processing, School of Engineering and
Technology, The Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3000, Chuo Kikuu
Morogoro, Tanzania.
V.C.K Silayo
Department of Food Science and Agro-Processing, School of Engineering and
Technology, The Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3000, Chuo Kikuu
Morogoro, Tanzania.
Rashid A. Suleiman
Department of Food Science and Agro-Processing, School of Engineering and
Technology, The Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3000, Chuo Kikuu
Morogoro, Tanzania.
Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/fsarh/v4/6260
