Abstract:
Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam) is a fruit which is highly demanded by Asians. It is a
large fruit which is difficult to peel, therefore consumers prefer to buy it ready to cook. The
objective of this study was to investigate the effect of application of an alginate based edible coating
on quality parameters of pre-cut jackfruit samples. Alginate is a polysaccharide which can be used
in development of coatings and films using its gelling property. Alginate for the study was extracted
from Sargassum sp. by hot extraction method. An FT-IR analysis was done to confirm the presence
of functional groups of extracted sodium alginate. FT-IR analysis resulted peaks at wavenumbers
(cm-1), 1562.973, 849.208, 949.176 and 3461.391. According to previous literature, appearance of
peaks at these wavenumbers indicated the presence of carboxylate, mannuronic acid, uronic acid
and an O-H groups respectively. 1% alginate based edible coating was developed using extracted
alginate to apply on pre-cut jackfruit samples which are to be stored for 5 days under refrigerated
conditions (6+1 0C).Total soluble solid content (TSS), weight loss percentage, titrable acidity, pH
and ascorbic acid content of coated and uncoated jackfruit samples were measured for a period of 5
days. According to the results, TSS and pH of both coated and uncoated samples has increased. On
the fifth day, a significantly higher TSS and a pH value was observed in the uncoated sample.
Weight loss was observed in both coated and uncoated samples. During the storage period of 5
days, a significantly higher weight loss percentage was observed in uncoated sample than the coated
sample. Titratable acidity decreased during the storage period. Significantly higher decrement in the
titratable acidity was observed in uncoated sample. Ascorbic acid content was decreased during the
storage period but there was no any significant difference in the decrement of ascorbic acid content
between coated and uncoated sample. Thus, within 5 days of storage lesser weight loss and better-
quality values of Tss, titratable acidity and pH were obtained for jackfruit samples coated with 1%
alginate. Microbial analysis and sensory analysis of the study is in progress.
Keywords: Jack fruit; Alginate; Edible coating; Packaging; Shelf life
