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Synergistic effect of natural antifungal agents for postharvest diseases of blackberry fruits
Author(s) -
Liu Hongxia,
Zhao Huifang,
Lyu Lianfei,
Huang Zhengjin,
Fan Sufan,
Wu Wenlong,
Li Weilin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.9551
Subject(s) - postharvest , ferulic acid , natamycin , food science , antifungal , shelf life , penicillium expansum , biology , chemistry , horticulture , microbiology and biotechnology
BACKGROUND Blackberry postharvest diseases are caused by fungal pathogens, and treatment of fruits with edible, natural products could reduce the postharvest losses and contribute to food sustainability. Based on the hypothesis that inhibition of fungal pathogens will significantly extend the shelf‐life of food products, the effects of natural antifungal agents on fungal pathogens were tested. RESULTS Two pathogenic fungal isolates, Aspergillus japonicus and Gilbertella persicaria , from infected blackberry fruits were identified morphologically using scanning electron microscopy and confirmed by DNA sequence analysis. The inhibitory effects and synergistic action of natural antifungal agents against the two fungal isolates were investigated. The results obtained demonstrated that the natamycin, chitosan and ferulic acid exhibited significant antifungal activities against the tested strains based on the calculated minimum inhibitory concentration. The best antifungal activity was obtained using a combination of ferulic acid and natamycin, which generated a total synergistic effect on both tested strains with a fractional inhibitory concentration index of 0.281. Application of the selected agents on postharvest blackberry fruits reduced the rot ratio and weight loss and also increased fruit firmness. In addition, the shelf‐life of fresh blackberry fruits was extended up to 12–15 days at 4 °C and 90 ± 5% relative humidity. CONCLUSION The combined utilization of ferulic acid and natamycin showed synergistic antifungal activity against two pathogenic fungal isolates, and extended the shelf life of fresh blackberry fruits up to 12–15 days. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry