Ficus hirta fruits extract incorporated into an alginate-based edible coating for Nanfeng mandarin preservation

• FH (Ficus hirta) extract enhanced the control efficacy of blue mold on citrus fruit.
• This is the first research for application of the SA (sodium-alginate) coating with FH extract in fruit preservation.
• FH-SA coating reduced postharvest losses and maintained the fruit quality.
• FH-SA coating enhanced the activities of antioxidant and defense-related enzymes in Nanfeng mandarin.

An edible coating based on 1.5% sodium alginate (SA), 0.7% citric acid and 1.0% sucrose ester with and without Ficus hirta (FH) fruit extract was applied to Nanfeng mandarins to preserve their postharvest quality. Changes in decay rate, weight loss, quality parameters, respiration rate, and enzymatic activities of the coated and control samples were assessed at 10-day intervals for a 100-day storage period at 6 °C. The decay rate, weight loss, respiration rate and maleicdialdehyde (MDA) content were much lower in the FH-SA coated samples than in the control group. During the middle and later periods of storage, Nanfeng mandarin treated with FH-SA coating maintained good fruit quality. The FH-SA coating treatment enhanced the activities of antioxidant and defense-related enzymes such as superoxyde dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), chitinase (CHI), β-1,3-glucanase (GLU), and phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL), and stimulated the accumulation of phenolic compounds. Our study suggests that FH-SA coating has the potential to enhance the long term quality and storage of Nanfeng mandarin.