Effects of chitosan coating and modified atmosphere packaging on postharvest quality and bioactive compounds of pomegranate fruit cv. 'Hicaznar'

The objective of this study is to determine effects of chitosan (CH) coating and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on postharvest quality and bioactive compounds of 'Hicaznar' pomegranate fruit. Pomegranates were subjected to CH treatment (0% or 1%) and packaged with or without MAP bags. Following treatments, pomegranates were kept at 6 ± 0.5 °C and 90 ± 5% relative humidity for 6 months. After 2, 4 or 6 months of storage, fruit were removed from cold storage and kept at 20 °C for 7 days to simulate a shelf life period. The untreated fruit was served as a control treatment. CH, MAP and CH + MAP treatments maintained better husk color, titratable acidity (TA) and ascorbic acid (AsA) content, compared to control treatment. CH + MAP and MAP treatments significantly reduced weight loss and husk scald. CH coating alone was the most effective treatment to control fungal decay during cold storage and its effect continued during the shelf life period. The arils of CH-coated fruit were deep red and had highest antioxidant activity, total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA) and total phenolic (TP) content. After 6 months of storage plus shelf life period, control and CH coated fruit became unmarketable while MAP and CH + MAP treated fruit were still marketable. The best results were obtained from CH + MAP treatment for controlling husk scald, decay and weight loss of 'Hicaznar' pomegranate fruits with maintaining visual quality and initial red aril color intensity for 6 months of cold storage plus shelf life.