effects of pre-storage pectin, cellulose acetate, and sodium alginate coatings on the preservation of papaya (carica papaya l.)

Purpose: the current study examined the impacts of postharvest treatments with different coating solutions to enhance the shelf life of papaya at the least nutrient loss. research method: the study was carried out with mature and fresh shahi papayas (bari papaya-1) using complete randomized design. the experiment comprised four treatments namely control (t1), coating with 2% pectin solution (t2), 2% cellulose acetate solution (t3), and 2% sodium alginate solution (t4). findings: significant variations among the treatments regarding physicochemical characteristics like color, weight loss (%), moisture content (%), ph, titratable acidity, total soluble solids (°brix), vitamin c content, and biological parameters like total viable count (tvc), and shelf life were observed for the 12 day storage periods. it was observed that vitamin c content, moisture content, and titratable acidity gave higher values in the treated samples (t2, t3, t4) with the lowest color score, weight loss, total soluble solids, and ph. among the samples, the papaya treated with 2% sodium alginate solution obtained the longest shelf life with the lowest tvc value. conversely, the control papaya had the highest microbial load with the shortest shelf life. research limitations: there was no limitation. originality/value: among the treatments, 2% sodium alginate solution increased the shelf life of papaya by 16% and decreased post-harvest loss. therefore, 2% sodium alginate solution treatment seems to be a good substitute for preservation and an effective way to retain the quality of papaya.