Quality of guava cv. ‘Pedro Sato’ treated with cassava starch and cinnamon essential oil

• The antifungal effect (anthracnose) essential oil of cinnamon.
• Coatings influence on mass loss and firmness of guavas.
• The use of coatings to extend the lifetime of guava.

Colletrotrichum gloesporiodies is the causal agent of anthracnose in guava, and proliferates during the storage period. One of the major changes occurs in the cell wall, affecting appearance, making this fruit more susceptible to the attack of this pathogen, significantly affecting marketing and storage. The antifungal effect of the 0.01% cinnamon essential oil, associated or not with 2% cassava starch, was studied for the physical, chemical and enzymatic properties, as well as cell wall changes occurred in the fruit stored at 25 °C and 76% ± 5 RH for 8 days. The treatment 2% starch + 0.01% cinnamon essential oil (S + EO) reduced mass loss by 30.23%, had a firmness of 12.23 N at the end of storage and the green color was maintained on the 8th day of storage, when compared with treatment control (C). The increase in the contents of soluble pectin was observed in all treatments, but more sharply in treatment C, with values of 0,62 mg 100 g−1; for treatment 2% starch (S) and S + EO, these values were 0.32 mg 100 g−1 and 0.33 mg 100 g−1, respectively, at the end of the evaluation. The activity of the enzyme PME was lower in the treatment S + EO, presenting a value of 233.38 U.g.min−1 on the 8th day, showing that there was lower fruit tissue softening. The cell wall degradation of the fruits was observed in treatment C, confirming firmness loss. The treatments S and S + EO were effective in maintaining the quality of guava at room temperature and modified atmosphere, extending the useful life of such a perishable fruit.