Cherry tomatoes are climacteric fruits that have a limited shelf life. Over the years, many methods have been applied to preserve the fruit quality and safety of these fruits. In this study, a novel method of combining mucilage from dragon fruits and UV-C irradiation was carried out. Cherry tomatoes were subjected to UV-C irradiation and edible coating, both as a stand-alone and hurdle treatment. The edible coating was prepared from the mucilage of white dragon fruits. Quality parameters including color, weight loss, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, antioxidant analysis (total phenolic content and flavonoid content), and microbial analysis were measured throughout 21 days of storage at 4 °C. Results showed that the hurdle treatment extended shelf life by 21 days, reduced weight loss (0.87 ± 0.05%) and color changes (11.61 ± 0.95 ΔE), and inhibited microbes better than stand-alone treatments. Furthermore, fruits treated with the combination of UV-C and edible coating also contained higher total polyphenol content (0.132 ± 0.003 mg GAE/100 mL), total flavonoid content (13.179 ± 0.002 mg CE/100 mL), and ascorbic acid (1.07 ± 0.06 mg/100 mL). These results show that the combination of UV-C and edible coating as a hurdle treatment could be an innovative method to preserve shelf life and quality of fruits.

The immobilization of cross-linked tannase onto carboxyl-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT?COOH) was achieved via physical adsorption. Glutaraldehyde was used to cross-link the enzyme molecules. Spectroscopic and morphological characterizations of the enzyme-nanotubes composite were carried out, which authenticated the successful adsorption event. Enzyme composite is proven equal to-, or even superior than free tannase, in terms of catalytic activities and stabilities, when measured under different thermal-, pH-, and recycling conditions. Whilst both free- and immobilized tannase preparations exhibited optimum catalysis at pH 5.0 and 35?C, tannase-nanotubes composite possesses better thermal stability. The immobilized preparation retained 75% of its initial catalytic activity following ten consecutives use. The study demonstrated a facile method to produce catalytically-efficient nanobiocatalyst composite for biotechnological applications.

Papaya fruit (Carica papaya L.) is one of the most widely farmed fruits in Malaysia, and produced for domestic consumption and exported worldwide. Papaya fruit is susceptible to anthracnose, a fungal infection caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides that negatively affects fruit quality and shelf-life. The common disease control approach utilises fungicides such as prochloraz as a postharvest application. However, public concerns regarding the health risks of fungicide residue on food have created interest in safer and greener alternatives. As a result, hot water treatment at 54°C for 5 min was investigated in order to reduce or replace the reliance on fungicides. Results showed that papaya fruits treated with hot water presented a higher reduction in disease incidence and severity. Additionally, hot water treatment preserved the physicochemical properties, prolonged shelf-life, and increased the papaya fruits’ total phenolic and flavonoid contents while up-regulating metabolites that are involved in stress tolerance.