EFFECTS OF ALOE VERA BASED EDIBLE COATING ON SHELF LIFE AND QUALITY OF TOMATOES

Abstract

This study investigated the feasibility of aloe vera based edible coating on the shelf life and quality parameters of unripe tomatoes. It assessed the storability and the microbiological qualities of uncoated and coated tomatoes. The control and coated samples were stored at room temperature 25°C-30°C and relative humidity of 82-84%. The microbial and fungi counts of the uncoated samples were comparably higher than those of the coated samples. For the uncoated samples, the bacterial count ranged between 10 x 103cfu/g and 13 x 103cfu/g and 4 x 103cfu/g and 6 x 103 cfu/g for fungal count, while for the coated, it ranged between 6 x 103cfu/g and 8 x 103cfu/g for bacterial count and 3 x 103cfu/g remains for fungal count between the 2nd and the 4th week. For the storability, it was found that the control sample began to deteriorate in quality and begin to show sign of decay from the 2nd week, on getting to the 4th week, the control was totally damaged while for the coated sample, the tomatoes remained fresh and healthy. In terms of the physiological weight loss for the uncoated, there was a percentage weight loss of 45.754% at the end of the 4th week, while for the coated, percentage weight loss was observed and determined to be 13.137% at the end of that same 4th week, finally for the chroma value, there was a significant change in the chroma value of the uncoated sample during the 4th week of storage, as it reads 44.933 which shows that there is a significant color change from the shiny red to faded red, while for the coated sample, the chroma value during the 4th week of storage was 66.581, which showed a much more bright color, as compared to the uncoated sample. Thus, the use of aloe vera based edible coating is highly recommended for storing and extending the shelf life of fresh tomatoes fruit.