Peach gum edible coating film delays the browning of postharvest litchi and maintains its quality

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impacts of the peach gum (PG) edible coating film on pericarp browning of ‘Guiwei’ litchi stored at ambient temperature. Factor analysis was applied to comprehensively evaluate the effect of different concentrations (0, 1%, 2%, 4%) of PG treatments. Compared to the control, 4% PG treatment could effectively suppress the rising of relative electric conductivity, delay the degradation of anthocyanin, maintain the a* and c*value and higher TSS content, and inhibit the browning index. Moreover, 4% PG treatment reduced the accumulation of total phenols and flavonoids, including gallic catechin (GC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and catechin gallate (CG), restrain the peroxidase activity. 4% PG treatment also contributes to higher organic acid content (oxalic acid, ascorbic acid, malic acid, and succinic acid), maintaining good litchi flavor. In conclusion, the 4% PG treatment provides good performance, and these findings will provide a promising approach for litchi preservation.