Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 3.0

Efficacy of Some Plant Aqueous Extracts and Waxes in the Preservation of Some Fruits and Vegetables

A. Bukar, A. M. Magashi

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology · pp. 1368–1379 · Published 21 Aug 2013

10.9734/BJAST/2014/2213

Abstract

Aim: The preservative effect of waxes (paraffin and ester) in addition to buffers (pH 9 and 10) and aqueous extracts (P. biglobosa pod, G. senegalensis and B. aeyptiaca leaves) were studied on fruits and vegetables. Methodology: The preservative effects of the waxes was determined by treating fresh ripe tomatoes, peppers and oranges with buffer (pH 9, 10) for 2 minutes and wax for 3 minutes using the dipping method and for extracts, washing daily with 5mg/ml or 10mg/ml for 3 minutes. Controls were untreated and unwaxed. Number of days taken for fruits and fruit vegetables to deteriorate was recorded and compared. Results: Results showed waxing was highly effective on pepper (30 days), moderately effective on orange (26 days) and fairly effective on tomato (15 days). Among the waxes, paraffin was more effective (9 – 30 days) in increasing shelf life than ester (9 – 14 days) and the control (6-8 days). P. biglobosa extract application proved more effective (17 - 26 days) than Guera senegalensis (13 – 14 days), Balanites aegyptiaca (8 - 13 days) and the control (9-11 days) in extending the shelf life of the test fruits and vegetables. Statistically, significant differences (P > 0.05) exist between shelf life of tomatoes, oranges and peppers used as control and those subjected to treatments. Comparison of the preservative activity indicated paraffin wax > P. biglobosa > G. senegalensis > B. aegyptiaca > ester wax. Conclusion: Application of waxes and plant aqueous extracts to preserve seasonally available fruits and vegetables could provide a cheap and economically viable method of preservation that could be adopted by farmers in Nigeria, where storage facilities for such products are insufficient.

Efficacy fruits Nigeria storage wax.

References (11)

  1. 1 Tropical and subtropical fruits : composition, properties, and uses
  2. 2 Coating selection for ‘Delicious’ and other apples [DOI]
  3. 3 Sanitation in Food Processing [DOI]
  4. 4 Hot water and curing treatments reduce chilling injury and maintain post-harvest quality of ‘Valencia’ oranges [DOI]
  5. 5 Antimicrobial films and coatings for fresh fruit and vegetables [DOI]
  6. 6 Sanitizing Effects of Fruit Waxes at High pH and Temperature on Orange Surfaces Inoculated with Escherichia coli [DOI]
  7. 7 Studies on the seed oils ofParkia biglobosa andParkia bicolor [DOI]
  8. 8 A Hausa Botanical Vocabulary [DOI]
  9. 9 Comparative phytochemical and antimicrobial studies of Solanum macrocarpum and S. torvum leaves [DOI]
  10. 10 Phytochemical analysis and antimicrobial activity of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) Benth. extracts against some food-borne microorganisms.
  11. 11 Antibacterial and antifungal effect of high pH and paraffin wax application on tomatoes, oranges and peppers [DOI]

Cited by 3

Strategies to Preserve Postharvest Quality of Horticultural Crops and Superficial Scald Control: From Diphenylamine Antioxidant Usage to More Recent Approaches

Cindy Dias, Ana L. Amaro, Ângelo C. Salvador · Antioxidants · 2020

Showing 1 of 3 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

33

Page views

0

PDF downloads

5

Outbound clicks

3

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.