Xanthan gum based edible coating enriched with cinnamic acid prevents browning and extends the shelf-life of fresh-cut pears

- Two pear fruit cultivars were evaluated for their fresh-cut processing.
- Xanthan gum has efficacy as edible coating to improve the quality of fresh-cut pears.
- Cinnamic acid incorporation in xanthan gum reduces surface browning of fresh-cut pears.
- The fruits of Pyrus communis 'Babughosha' are suitable for fresh-cut fruit industries.

The objective of this investigation was to elucidate the influences of xanthan gum-based edible coating (2.5 g/L) applied alone or enriched with cinnamic acid (1 g/L) on the quality attributes of fresh-cut Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia L. cv. 'Nashpati') and European pear (Pyrus communis L. cv. 'Babughosha') stored at 4 °C. The incorporation of cinnamic acid as antioxidant agent into xanthan gum based edible coating caused significant (p < 0.05) retardation of the oxidative browning, decline of ascorbic acid level, degradation of total phenolics content and reduction in antioxidant capacity as compared to fresh-cut pears coated only with xanthan gum and uncoated ones. The control slices of 'Nashpati' displayed greater rise in browning index (BI) and polyphenol oxidase activity (PPO) and consistent decline in lightness (L*) values than those of 'Babughosha' during 8 days of storage. Moreover, the lower proliferation of microorganism over the fresh-cut pear may be attributed to the combined influence of good processing conditions along with xanthan gum edible coating enriched with cinnamic acid. Thus the tested xanthan gum based edible coating plus cinnamic acid may contribute to reduce the surface browning and enhance the shelf-life of fresh-cut 'Nashpati' and 'Babughosha' for 4 days and 8 days, respectively at 4 °C.