APPLICATION OF EDIBLE COATINGS CONTAINING CINNAMON AND PEPPERMINT ESSENTIAL OIL TO MINIMALLY PROCESSED PUMPKIN

Abstract

Edible coatings have proven to be an alternative in the preservation of fruits and vegetables. The incorporation of active agents such as essential oil has been shown to be efficient in inhibiting microbial proliferation in minimally processed vegetables. The present study investigated the efficiency of chitosan-based coatings with cinnamon leaf and peppermint essential oils in the conservation of minimally processed pumpkins stored for ten days at 5 °C.  A completely randomized experiment was carried out with four groups, a group of pumpkins treated with chitosan coating, a group with a chitosan coating and cinnamon essential oil, and a group with a chitosan coating and peppermint essential oil, in addition to the uncoated control group. Analyses were carried out to determine the loss of mass, firmness, pH, titratable acidity and content of total soluble solids during the storage period. The group with peppermint coating and oil showed higher efficiency in mass retention, firmness and pH value during the first five days of storage. The coating groups containing cinnamon oil and peppermint showed a similar reduction in mass loss at the end of the ten days of storage. The use of coatings based on chitosan and peppermint essential oil is a viable alternative for the conservation of processed pumpkin for a short storage period.