RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Oregano essential oil (EO) was incorporated into film-forming dispersions (FFDs) based on biopolymers (chitosan and/or methylcellulose) at two different concentrations. The effect of the application of the FFDs was evaluated on tomato plants (cultivar Micro-Tom) at three different stages of development, and on pre-harvest and postharvest applications on tomato fruit. RESULTS: The application of the FFDs at '3 Leaves' stage caused phytotoxic problems, which were lethal when the EO was applied without biopolymers. Even though plant growth and development were delayed, the total biomass and the crop yield were not affected by biopolymer-EO treatments. When the FFDs were applied in the 'Fruit' stage the pre-harvest application of FFDs had no negative effects. All FFDs containing EO significantly reduced the respiration rate of tomato fruit and diminished weight loss during storage. Moreover, biopolymer-EO FFDs led to a decrease in the fungal decay of tomato fruit inoculated with Rhizopus stolonifer spores, as compared with non-treated tomato fruit and those coated with FFDs without EO. CONCLUSION: The application of biopolymer-oregano essential oil coatings has been proven to be an effective treatment to control R. stolonifer in tomato fruit. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Assuntos
Biopolímeros/química , Proteção de Cultivos , Conservação de Alimentos , Frutas/química , Óleos Voláteis/química , Origanum/química , Óleos de Plantas/química , Solanum lycopersicum/química , Biopolímeros/efeitos adversos , Respiração Celular , Quitosana/efeitos adversos , Quitosana/química , Produtos Agrícolas/química , Produtos Agrícolas/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Produtos Agrícolas/microbiologia , Emulsões , Flores/química , Flores/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Flores/metabolismo , Flores/microbiologia , Qualidade dos Alimentos , Armazenamento de Alimentos , Frutas/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Frutas/metabolismo , Frutas/microbiologia , Concentração de Íons de Hidrogênio , Solanum lycopersicum/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Solanum lycopersicum/metabolismo , Solanum lycopersicum/microbiologia , Metilcelulose/efeitos adversos , Metilcelulose/química , Viabilidade Microbiana , Óleos Voláteis/efeitos adversos , Origanum/efeitos adversos , Pigmentos Biológicos/análise , Pigmentos Biológicos/biossíntese , Folhas de Planta/química , Folhas de Planta/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Folhas de Planta/metabolismo , Folhas de Planta/microbiologia , Óleos de Plantas/efeitos adversos , Rhizopus/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Rhizopus/isolamento & purificação , Rhizopus/fisiologia , Esporos Fúngicos/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Esporos Fúngicos/isolamento & purificação , Esporos Fúngicos/fisiologia , Propriedades de SuperfícieRESUMO
Chitosan coatings containing lemon essential oils were described as effective at controlling fruit fungal decay at 20°C during 7 days. In this work, GC-MS was used to characterise the volatile compounds of strawberries during cold storage in order to analyse the influence of fruit coatings with chitosan, containing or not containing lemon essential oil, on the volatile profile of the fruits. The coatings affected the metabolic pathways and volatile profile of the fruits. Pure chitosan promoted the formation of esters and dimethyl furfural in very short time after coating, while coatings containing lemon essential oil incorporated terpenes (limonene, γ-terpinene, p-cymene and α-citral) to the fruit volatiles and enhanced the fermentative process, modifying the typical fruit aroma composition. No effect of chitosan coatings was sensorially perceived, the changes induced by lemon essential oil were notably appreciated.
