Vol. 8, Issue 7, Part B (2024)

Abstract: Pointed gourd, commonly known as ‘King of gourds’ is an economically important cucurbitaceous vegetable, native to India. It has a very limited postharvest life of 2 – 3 days at ambient condition. The rapid deteriorative changes after harvest causes loss of visual appeal, quality and marketability of pointed gourd within a very short period. The present study investigated the effect of sodium alginate, chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) coatings on postharvest quality of pointed gourd fruits during storage at ambient condition. In this experiment, pointed gourd fruits were coated with the above edible coating materials each at 1% and 2% concentrations, while control fruits were treated with distilled water. Following this, fruits were dried and stored at ambient temperature. The results showed that surface coating of pointed gourd with 1% chitosan significantly reduced weight loss of fruit compared to other treatments. This treatment also helped in preserving chlorophyll pigments and slowing down degradation of carotenoid pigments. The soluble solids content was better retained in coated fruits, with chitosan 1% showing the maximum retention. The total flavonoids content decreased over time but remained higher in coated fruits, especially with 1% chitosan and 2% CMC, compared to control. Overall, the findings of this study indicated that postharvest surface coating of pointed gourd fruit with 1% chitosan was highly effective in preserving desirable quality characteristics and extending storability of pointed gourd fruit during storage at ambient condition.