Study on Sensory Characteristics of Pomegranate Arils (Punica granatum L.) Affected by Encapsulation of Satureja bakhtiyarica Essential Oil with Chitosan

Since harvested horticultural products are highly perishable, those techniques should be used to increase their shelf life for their use in all seasons and their export. The effects of the encapsulation of Satureja bachtiarica essential oil with chitosan on the sensory and qualitative characteristics of pomegranate arils are studied in an experiment based on a completely randomized design with eight treatments including different w/w ratios of S. bachtiarica essential oil to chitosan (1:1, 1:2, and 1:3) at two spray levels of S. bachtiarica essential oil (0.3 and 0.6), and a pre-treatment and a post-treatment control, with three replications in the research laboratory of Shahrekord University in 2020-2021. Arils treated with the chitosan: essential oil ratio of 1-0.6 exhibit the best appearance and those treated with 2-0.3 and 3-0.3 exhibit the best taste. Based on the results, the diameter of the antimicrobial halo related to the fungus has been 2 mm in the essential oil treatment and 5.5 mm in the essential oil: chitosan ratio of 1:2. The highest encapsulation efficiency and the smallest particle size pertain to the treatment of 1:2. The ratio of 1:3 show higher efficiency than the ratio of 1:1 (55.1% versus 51.2%). The lowest zeta potential is obtained from the 1:3 ratio and the highest from the 1:1 ratio. Coating pomegranate arils and selecting an appropriate concentration of S. bachtiarica with chitosan coating (1-0.3 and 2-0.3) can significantly contribute to preserving the shelf life, marketability, and nutritional quality of pomegranate arils.