Effect of chitosan coatings on the quality of persimmon under commercial storage conditions.

The chitosan coating effectiveness for enhancing the shelf life and retaining the carotenoids content of persimmons under commercial storage was investigated. Persimmons ( Diospyros kaki L.) var. “Kyoto” were disinfected, immersed, drained, dried at room temperature, packaged and stored in a controlled temperature chamber. Physical and chemical properties were measured. The coating application reduced significantly the hue angle values compared with the control which suggests a slight ripening by the coating effect. Finally, the analysis of the carotenoid concentration for the five specific carotenoids determined that the β-cryptoxanthin was the most abundant pigment and it was not significantly differences during the storage and coating application. The storage time did not influence the carotenoid content for uncoated samples excluding the α-carotene analysis. The chitosan coating influenced on the lutein and zeaxanthin concentration during the last storage and on the α-carotene and β-carotene concentration for some cases.