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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359937
Research Project: Pre-and Postharvest Treatment of Tropical Commodities to Improve Quality and Increase Trade Through Quarantine Security

Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research

Title: Aloe vera coatings maintain antioxidants of fig (Ficus carica L.) fruit during storage

Author
item MIRSHEKARI, AMIN - Yasouj University
item Wall, Marisa
item MADANI, BABAK - Agricultural Research, Education And Extension Organization (AREEO)
item BIGGS, ALAN - West Virginia University

Submitted to: Advances in Horticultural Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/2019
Publication Date: 7/18/2020
Citation: Mirshekari, A., Wall, M.M., Madani, B., Biggs, A.R. 2020. Aloe vera coatings maintain antioxidants of fig (Ficus carica L.) fruit during storage. Advances in Horticultural Science. 34(2):205-212. https://doi.org/10.13128/ahsc-8255.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13128/ahsc-8255

Interpretive Summary: Fresh figs treated with Aloe vera gel maintained physical, chemical and sensory quality, with higher fruit firmness, increased antioxidant activity, and lower microbial loads compared to control fruit after storage at cold (2 ºC) or ambient (20 ºC) temperatures. Aloe vera gel coated figs had higher sensory scores and retained most of their vitamin C content, relative to untreated fruit. Postharvest treatment with Aloe vera gel could be a useful alternative to current chemical protocols for preserving fig fruit quality by increasing antioxidant capacity.

Technical Abstract: Fresh produce commodities are often subject to rapid nutrient depletion and high microbial populations. Fresh fruit of the well-known fig (Ficus carica L.) cultivar ‘Siyah’ were grown in Fars Province, Iran, and then treated with different concentrations of Aloe vera prior to being placed into ambient or cold storage. We examined fruit for microbial loads, firmness, soluble solids contents (SSC), anthocyanin concentrations, total phenolic compounds (TPC), flavonoid concentrations (FC), ascorbic acid content, antioxidant activity, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. For both ambient and cold storage, treated fruit showed lower microbial loads than the control. In addition, figs coated with Aloe vera gel exhibited higher firmness, anthocyanin concentrations, TPC, FC, ascorbic acid content, and antioxidant capacity than the control. PAL and SOD activities were enhanced with Aloe vera gel treatments.