Aplicação de cobertura comestível a base de amido da amêndoa de manga e extrato de alecrim na qualidade pós-colheita de tomates

Abstract

Climacteric fruits, such as tomatoes, tend to continue their physiological processes in the post-harvest, causing losses during this period. The use of edible coatings has been studied in order to create a modified atmosphere capable of maintaining the quality of fruits and vegetables in the post-harvest period. This technology has gained space because it can be produced using natural raw materials such as: polysaccharides, lipids and proteins and, in addition, it is possible to add additives that can help in other conservation characteristics, that is, with antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. These edible coatings are biodegradable and can be produced from industrial waste, such as the starch extracted from the kernel of the mango endocarp, which makes up about 20% of the waste generated by the industrialization of the fruit. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the edible coating based on starch extracted from the almond of the mango endocarp added with rosemary extract on the postharvest quality of tomatoes, through mechanical and physicochemical analyses. The extraction and characterization of starch from the mango endocarp were carried out and the following coatings were developed: 5 % starch (control), 5 % starch and 0.15 % rosemary extract and 5 % starch and 4 % rosemary extract. The tomatoes were immersed in the coverings and stored for 20 days at 25 ºC, and every 4 days 3 samples of each treatment were taken for evaluation. The extraction yield was 48.94% in relation to the initial weight of the kernels and the extracted starch presented moisture of 11.68%, ash content of 0.34%, protein content of 0.63%, lipid content of 10.14% and carbohydrate content of 77.73%. Edible coatings were not effective in increasing the shelf life of tomatoes, not interfering with the fruit maturation process. However, in relation to the color of the tomatoes, it is possible to point out that the coverage with 4% of rosemary extract influenced the non-darkening of the fruit, keeping it lighter and more orange than in the other treatments.