Improvement of Postharvest Quality and Storability of Jamun Fruit (Syzygium cumini L. var. Paras) by Zein Coating Enriched with Antioxidants

Jamun (Syzygium cumin L.) is a minor indigenous underexploited and perishable fruit of India. Keeping its perishability in mind, the present study is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of zein-based coatings enriched with cystein (0.2 %), ascorbic acid (0.2 %), and jamun leaves extract (JLE) (0.2 %) and to evaluate their interactive effects on shelf life and quality of fresh jamun fruits during storage at 10 ± 2 °C for 2 weeks. The results of the present study demonstrated that during storage, uncoated fruit had rapid weight loss, higher decay incidence, high accumulation of sugars, and accelerated softening and ripening than that of all the coated fruit. The content of antioxidants was found to be improved in zein-coated fruits enriched with ascorbic acid (0.2 %) and JLE (0.2 %) and, therefore, exhibited higher antioxidant activity. Moreover, the delayed activity of polygalacturonase (PG) and pectate lyase (PL) was noticed in fruits coated with zein + cystein and zein + JLE and maintained firmness and textural quality of fruit. Consequently, the shelf life of jamun fruit treated with the presently tested coating materials could be extended up to 20 days, while that of control fruit was only 10 days.