Enhancing the postharvest quality attributes of banana (cv. Sabri) fruit by using chitosan, paraffin and coating oils

The specific purpose of the present study was to explore the nutritional properties of bananas as exposed to various coating treatments. The single factor experiment was accompanied by a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Among the physicochemical parameters; moisture content, total weight loss, and TSS increased with the duration of storage. On the other hand, dry matter, titratable acidity, and vitamin C content reduced during storage in the case of all the treated and untreated fruits. Paraffin coating caused minimal weight loss, whereas, the untreated fruits exhibited maximal weight loss. The peel color turned blackened within 8 days of storage in the untreated fruits, while sesame oil coating helped to keep it slightly green until day 10, but microbial decay was evident at the end of the storage time. Significant variation was found in extending the shelf life of banana. Among the treated and untreated fruits, paraffin coating and sesame oil coating showed the best performance. The fruits coated with paraffin and sesame oil coating showed the longest shelf life (10 days) which followed by olive oil coating (9.33 days). The shortest shelf life was detected in the untreated control fruits (8 days). This is an attempt to extend the shelf life of banana using readily available coating materials.