Potential of chitosan from mushroom waste to enhance quality and storability of fresh-cut melons

Authors: POVERENOV, ELENA - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel; ARNON-RIPS, HADAR - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel; ZAITSEV, YANA - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel; BAR, VIKI - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel; DANAY, OFER - Migal Galilee Research Institute; HOREV, BATIA - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel; Bilbao-Sainz, Cristina; McHugh, Tara; RODOV, VICTOR - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel

Submitted to: Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/9/2018
Publication Date: 6/15/2018
Citation: Poverenov, E., Arnon-Rips, H., Zaitsev, Y., Bar, V., Danay, O., Horev, B., Bilbao-Sainz, C., McHugh, T.H., Rodov, V. 2018. Potential of chitosan from mushroom waste to enhance quality and storability of fresh-cut melons. Food Chemistry. 268:233-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.06.045.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.06.045

Interpretive Summary: Practically all commercial chitosan is currently sourced from crustacean shellfish, i.e. shrimps and crabs. Fruits and vegetables coated by such animal-sourced chitosan become inconsumable for a considerable part of the population that include vegetarians and people who do not eat crustaceans because of allergy, religious or other restrictions. These considerations limit chitosan coatings usage in food industry, especially in the field of fresh agricultural produce. However, cell wall of mushrooms includes chitin fibers and could become a non-animal source for chitosan production. Moreover, chitosan production may not require high quality mushroom and can utilize waste of mushrooms industry. In this study, antimicrobial biopolymer chitosan was produced from champignon mushrooms. The stipe source resulted in higher yield of chitosan than cap, confirming that mushroom industry waste can be utilized as a sustainable source of non-animal chitosan. Spectroscopic and antimicrobial properties of the received fungal chitosan were studied and found to be very similar to those of the commercial chitosan from crustacean source. When utilized as edible coating, fungal chitosan from both stipe and cap significantly inhibited physiological and microbial deterioration of fresh-cut melon.

Technical Abstract: The possibility of usage mushroom industry wastage, as a source of antimicrobial biopolymer chitosan to form active edible coatings was studied. Physicochemical characteristics of the received fungal chitosan were examined and compared to those of the commercial, crustacean-sourced chitosan. An antimicrobial activity of the prepared chitosan was tested on E. coli bacteria and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, and found to be similar to that of the commercial one. The fungal chitosans-based edible coatings we applied on fresh-cut melons were found to significantly inhibit physiological and microbial deterioration of the fruits, thereby reducing the bacteria, yeast and mold counts (up to 4 log CFU g-1) and slowing down tissue texture degradation. Producing chitosan from champignon stipe offcuts will allow utilization of mushroom industry waste as a sustainable source of non-animal chitosan and promoting application of chitosan-based edible coatings as safe and effective method for preservation of fresh food products.