Active hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-based composite coating powder to maintain the quality of fresh mango

Edible composite coating powder based on hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), beeswax (BW), nanoclay and ginger oil was developed using spray-drying and freeze-drying methods. The antifungal activity of the freeze-dried HPMC-based composite powder was better than from spray drying. The Arrhenius equation used to accelerate shelf-life testing based on antifungal performance indicated that the shelf-life of the active coating powder was 160 days at 25 °C. The active coating powder was applied on mangoes cv. Namdokmai Sithong to verify its effectiveness. It is proved that the coating powder maintained the quality of the coated mangoes by reducing the weight loss, firmness loss, changes in flesh color, soluble solids content and disease severity. The shelf-life of coated mangoes was extended to 18 days at 13 °C. Therefore, coating powder of HPMC-based composite incorporated with ginger oil will reduce the loss of agricultural produce due to its antifungal activity, convenience and ease of use.