Shelf‐life study of ready‐to‐cook slices of globe artichoke ‘Spinoso sardo’: effects of anti‐browning solutions and edible coating enriched withFoeniculum vulgareessential oil

Abstract

Background The globe artichoke [Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus (L.) Fiori] is a natural source of minerals, fiber, inulin, and polyphenols. A ready‐to‐cook (RTC) version of this product could improve its commercialization and consumption. In this study, the effects of (i) anti‐browning treatments (citric acid 0.5% + ascorbic acid 2%, or cysteine 0.5%, w/v) and (ii) dipping in locust bean gum (LBG) edible coating with or without Foeniculum vulgare essential oil (EO) were evaluated on RTC globe artichoke slices cv. ‘Spinoso sardo’ during storage (11 days at 4 °C). Fresh weight loss, color, texture, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), microbiological and chemical parameters, antioxidant capacity, and sensory descriptors were determined. Results The results showed that, despite the antioxidant treatment used, when EO was added to LBG, all microbiological groups underwent an average reduction of 0.50 log CFU g−1. Cysteine preserved the antioxidant capacity, color, and texture of samples better than citric acid and ascorbic acid, and inhibited PPO; the addition of EO to LBG enhanced these effects. At the end of the storage period, the overall highest sensory attribute score was attained by the coated globe artichoke samples with EO. Conclusion The marked efficacy of the LBG edible coating with added F. vulgare EO in maintaining microbiological, physical, chemical, and sensory qualities makes it a promising processing tool for the preservation of ready‐to‐cook Spinoso sardo globe artichoke slices during storage for 11 days at 4 °C. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Edible Coating and Pulsed Light to Increase the Shelf Life of Food Products

“…As a recent trend, it must be remarked that natural coating materials are increasingly attracting the interest of researchers, as shown by the wide use of Aloe vera gel [138][139][140][141] and other natural polysaccharides, such as chitosan [9, 12, 25, 39, 74, 142, 147, 152, 164-166, 168-170, 172, 174, 179, 180, 186, 190, 193, 201], or seaweed extracts [148], which exhibit an intrinsic antimicrobial activity, significantly contributing to extending the product shelf life. The tendency toward natural products is also confirmed by the wide use of natural gums [47,181], starches [20, 188,195], cellulose, and its derivatives [32,167,173,175,194], and other compounds recovered from agri-food residues [144,183,203]. Glycerol is frequently used as a plasticizer, at concentrations ranging from less than 1 to 20%.…”

Phylogeny and Pathogenicity of Phytophthora Species Associated with Artichoke Crown and Root Rot and Description of Phytophthora marrasii sp. nov.

“…The effect of temperature on growth was tested in vitro on 90 mm CA Petri dishes incubated at 2,5,10,15,19,20,23,25,27,28, and 30 • C (±0.5 • C) in the dark. In more detail, agar plugs (5 mm diameter) taken from 4-day-old colonies, growing at 20 ± 0.5 • C on CA, were placed top side down in the centre of new media plates, with five replicates per isolate.…”

“…In particular, Sardinia encompasses 21% of the national cultivated area with a production of 50,000 tons. The cultivar "Spinoso sardo" is the main cultivated variety as it is appreciated by local, national, and international markets [14,15]. Recently, some cultivars with thornless capitula, such as "Romanesco" and "Tema", have been growing in importance thanks to the use of micropropagated plants [4,16,17].…”

A New Insight on Cardoon: Exploring New Uses besides Cheese Making with a View to Zero Waste

“…So far, plant extracts and plant essential oils with known antioxidant and antimicrobial activity have been used in food packaging to control lipid oxidation and microbial deterioration [79,83,[92][93][94][95]. For instance, Rizzo et al [96] conducted a study on globe artichoke slices to evaluate dipping in locust bean gum edible coating with Foeniculum vulgare essential oil to extend its shelf life. The locust bean gum edible coating with added Foeniculum vulgare essential oil effectively decreased all microbiological groups tested and improved physical, chemical, and sensory qualities during 11 days of storage.…”