Gum arabic nanoemulsion coating for shelf life extension of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit under ambient storage

In the present study efficacy of the gum arabic nanoemulsion coating for shelf life extension of tomato fruit was evaluated. Nanoemulsion coating was synthesised using gum arabic (0.5, 1.0, 1.5%), glycerol (0.5, 0.75, 1.0%) and sodium benzoate (1.0, 1.5, 2.0%). Stability study of synthesised gum arabic nanoemulsions was carried out for 30 days under ambient storage by analysing their mean particle size, polydispersity index, count rate and zeta potential. Nanoemulsion contained 1% gum arabic, 0.5% glycerol and 1.5% sodium benzoate was found to be most stable and hence freshly harvested, breaker tomato fruits were coated by selected gum arabic nanoemulsion and gum arabic microemulsion with five different dipping times (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 min) followed by ambient storage. Tomato fruits coated with 4 min dipping in gum arabic nanoemulsion had maximum shelf life (24 days) with advantage of 15 days over the control whereas fruits coated with 4 min dipping in gum arabic microemulsion had shelf life of 15 days when stored under ambient condition. Furthermore, the gum arabic nanoemulsion coating retained quality attributes of fruits during extended storage. Hence, coating of gum arabic nanoemulsion can improve the quality and shelf life of fruits and vegetables significantly compared to gum arabic microemulsion.