Effect of using edible coatings on fruit quality of Barhi date cultivar

Fresh date fruits, especially Barhi cultivar, are favored and widely consumed at the Khalal maturity stage (first color edible stage). These fruits are seasonal and perishable and there is a need for extending their shelf life. This work was carried out to study the capability of some edible coatings (gelatin, chitosan, guar gum and their combinations) to delay the ripening of fruits and prolong their shelf life. The effectiveness of the coatings was evaluated by the changes in several parameters: weight loss, total soluble solids, reducing and total sugars, total chlorophyll and total carotenoids, vitamin C, total polyphenols, titratable acidity, sensory evaluation and total bacterial count. The obtained results showed that, all studied coating treatments led to extend the shelf life of Barhi date fruits comparing with control sample, but the highest effective treatments were T5 (0.5 % guar gum) and T9 (gelatin + guar + chitosan) followed by T6 (gelatin + guar). Also, all studied edible coating treatments had insignificant (p < 0.05) effect on the organoleptic characteristics of Barhi date fruits. From these findings, the application of these treatments could be suggested to extend the shelf life of Barhi date fruits.