Carboxymethyl cellulose coating delays chilling injury development and maintains eating quality of 'Kinnow' mandarin fruits during low temperature storage.

The application of edible coatings is an efficient way to reduce mass loss and to conserve the quality of a coated fresh produce during postharvest storage. In the present research, the impact of carboxymethyl cellulose [CMC (1%] coating was studied on 'Kinnow' mandarins during cold storage at 5 ± 1 °C for 30 days. Results showed that CMC treatment substantially suppressed chilling injury symptoms, disease incidence, fresh weight loss, malondialdehyde content, hydrogen peroxide and electrolyte leakage compared with control. The CMC coated 'Kinnow' mandarins showed markedly higher ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase enzyme activities compared to control. The treatment of 'Kinnow' mandarins with CMC also suppressed the increase in total soluble solids, ripening index and showed substantially higher titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total phenolics content, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity along with better sensory quality in contrast with uncoated fruits. In conclusion, CMC coating could be an effective approach for the chilling injury reduction and quality maintenance of harvested 'Kinnow' mandarin fruits during cold storage.

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