Impact of carboxymethyl cellulose coating enriched with extract of Impatiens balsamina stems on preservation of ‘Newhall’ navel orange

•Composite edible coating reduced moisture loss and disease incidence.•Composite edible coating maintain the fruit quality.•Composite edible coating enhance the activities of SOD, POD, CHI, GUN and PAL in navel orange.

A new approach to the control of postharvest decay, while maintaining fruit quality, has been implemented by the application of extract of Impatiens balsamina L. stems, a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, amended coatings to ‘Newhall’ navel orange (Citrus sinensis L., Osbeck). After harvest, navel oranges were dipped in amended coating and then the samples were stored at 5 °C and 90–95% RH after being dried naturally. The data suggested that the coating treatment, respectively, reduced the decay rate and weight loss of fruit from 10.2% to 6.1% and from 6.33% to 2.91% after 100 days storage, with none deleterious effects on fruit quality such as soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and asorbic acid content (AsA). Moreover, the activities of scavenger antioxidant and defense enzymes, including peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), chitinase (CHI) and β-1,3-glucanase (GLU), were also increased by the coating treatment. It indicates that the film may be an effective and safe alternative preservative for navel orange.