Effect of edible coating from octenyl succinic anhydride modified rye starch to extend shelf life of plums

The present study envisaged the effect of octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) modification on rye starch. Different properties (amylose content, swelling, and solubility) of rye starch before and after OSA modifications were evaluated. The swelling capacity of starch increased from 12.96 to 21.72 after OSA modification. Amylose content and solubility of rye starch decreased from 21.48%-15.39% and 18.69%-11.64%, respectively. Further, as an application, plum fruits (uncoated and coated with native and OSA-modified starch) were selected to check the effect of storage duration on their weight and phenolic content. The result showed that native and OSA-modified rye starch was capable enough to retard weight loss and maintain freshness in plum fruit during storage. During the present study, untreated plums lost 21.95% of weight after 21 days of storage. The weight loss percentage observed in plum coated with native rye and OSA-modified starch (pH-4, pH-6, pH-8) was 8.09% and 5.42%-7.39%. OSA-modified starch at pH-8 was more effective in preventing the quality deterioration of plum fruit. The starch coating on plums resulted in increased fruit TPC and antioxidant properties; however, the storage period negatively affects the TPC and antioxidant properties. The experimental observations from the present work valorise the potential of rye starch to be used as an alternate edible source for the coating of fruits.