The use of biodegradable coatings to conserve fruits and vegetables stands out in the food industry. This study aims to evaluate the postharvest quality of papaya Formosa 'Tainung 01' submitted to different coating formulations, to establish the one that best maintains the postharvest quality. The fruits, distributed in a completely randomized design, received the coatings composed of aqueous solution of agar and pomegranate seed oil in the following compositions (with 6 treatments and 5 replicates): T1: 0.5% agar and 0.1 mL/L oil; T2: 1.0% agar and 0.2 mL/L oil; T3: 1.5% agar and 0.3 mL/L oil; T4: 2.0% agar and 0.4 mL/L of oil; T5: 2.5% of agar and 0.5 mL/L of oil; and T6: Control, uncoated. The experiment lasted ten days packing at 17.5 ± 0.6 °C and 55 ± 3, 2% RH. T4 provided better conservation of the quality attributes in papaya. Fruits in this treatment showed higher vitamin C content, higher soluble solids and total sugars, and lower titratable acidity, important characteristics for product acceptance. Besides, T4 better conserved the green (external) color of the fruits, while fruits submitted to the other treatments acquired a yellowish coloration.Practical Application: Edible coating based on agar and pomegranate seed oil for postharvest conservation.

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The use of natural products as coatings to preserve the fruit quality during storage is an important step to maintain food safety for consumer health. The use of microalgae in coatings, therefore, may be promising in the preservation of mango. The present work had the objective to evaluate the effect of coatings based on Chlorella sp. on the postharvest preservation of 'Tommy Atkins' mango during storage at room temperature (23 °C). We carried out a completely randomized design experiment consisting of 0%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% of Chlorella sp., using 10 fruits per treatment (n = 10). Analyzing the L*, a* and, b* indices, in the peel and the pulp of the mango fruit, we observed a delay in the ripening with the increase of the biofilm concentration. The firmness of the pulp and maintenance of the organic acids of the fruits were higher in the treatments with a large amount of Chlorella sp. The use of biofilm with Chlorella sp. at 2% preserved the quality of 'Tommy Atkins' mango until ten days of storage, at 23 °C and 42% RH.

This work assesses the influence of edible coating with nutraceutical properties on post-harvest conservation of guavas 'Paluma'. The experiment comprised of a completely randomized design with four replicates and three fruits per plot. Six treatments were applied combining different concentrations of agar and pomegranate seed oil (PS): T1: 1% agar and 0.1 mL/L PS oil; T2: 2% agar and 0.2 mL L-1 PS oil; T3: 3% agar and 0.3 mL L-1 PS oil; T4: 4% agar and 0.4 mL L-1 oil; T5: 5% agar and 0.5 mL L-1 oil; and T6: control (fruits without coating). After the immersion in treatment solutions, the guavas remained stored in an air-conditioned room for ten days at 10 °C and 40% RH. Fruits without coating (control) ripened faster than coated ones, so the treatments preserved fruit coloration. The treatments T4 and T5 provided the best preservation of peel color, suggesting slower ripening and maintenance of fruit quality, as their colors tended to green and opaque. The firmness of fruits without coating was decreased by 35.15% concerning the coated ones. Treatments T4 and T5 had the lowest loss of fresh mass. On the other hand, T5 showed the lowest soluble solids contents (SS)(13.46%). Titratable acidity (TA), SS/TA ratio, total sugars, and carotenoids were not affected by treatments. The edible coating with 4% of agar plus 0.4 mL L-1 of pomegranate seed oil promoted the best quality traits for the post-harvest preservation of the guavas 'Paluma'.

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