Notice

Abstract:

The effects of rice bran wax coating on the physi- cochemical properties such as firmness, weight loss, titratable acidity (TA) and soluble solid content (SSC) of cherry toma- toes were studied during cold storage. The chemical and nano- structure properties of chelate-soluble pectin (CSP) were also investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results indicated that there was no significant difference of firmness between con- trol (2.48 N) and waxed (2.87 N) fruits at the end of storage (20 days), while the weight loss of waxed fruits (13.54%) was lower than that of control fruits (16.02%). And the degree of esterification (DE) of both fruits decreased after cold storage by FTIR. The structural analysis by atomic force microscopy (AFM) indicated that rice bran wax coating inhibited the deg- radation of CSP. The CSP molecular widths ranged from 15 to 250 nm, and the vertical heights varied from 0.2 to 2.0 nm. Greater frequency (Fq) of large width and length CSP was found in waxed fruits than in control fruits. The results suggest that rice bran wax coating was an effective way to preserve fresh fruits.