Development and characterization of pomegranate peel extract-functionalized jackfruit seed starch-based edible films and coatings for prolonging the shelf life of white grapes

In the current research, the pomegranate peel extract of varying concentrations (0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.1 g/mL) were incorporated into jackfruit seed starch (5 % w/w) based edible films and coatings for the evaluation their effects on the mechanical, physical, barrier and thermal properties. Furthermore, the effects of the optimized edible coating were investigated on the postharvest shelf life of white grapes at room storage (30 +/- 5 C, RH = 70 +/- 5 %) conditions for up to 8 days. The obtained results showed a significant increment in thickness (p <= 0.05) with higher concentration (0.1 g/mL) of pomegranate peel extract (PPE), total phenolic content (959.33 +/- 43.36 mg/100 g) and antioxidant activity (87.35 +/- 1.64 %) of the prepared edible films but have negative impacts on the water vapor permeability (2.82 x 10(-6) +/- 6.48 x 10(-7) g- 1h(- 1)pa(- 1)) and oxygen permeability (1.62 x 10-14 +/- 9.32 x 10(-15 )cm(3)& sdot;cm/cm(2)& sdot;s & sdot;cmHg), solubility (23.24 +/- 3.21 %), and tensile strength (1.60 +/- 0.43 MPa). The edible film enriched with 0.4 g/mL of PPE showed higher thermal stability in terms of glass transition temperature (98.2 +/- 0.21 C-degrees) and peak temperature (110.3 +/- 0.35 C-degrees). Additionally, the application of coating treatment significantly maintains the postharvest shelf life of white grapes throughout the storage period.