Effectiveness of Chitosan Edible Coatings Incorporated with Beeswax and Aloe vera Extract for Active Packaging of Banana and Persimmon to Prevent Food Loss

Active packaging using edible coating could be an essential and sustainable alternative solution to preserve the properties of fruits and to prevent food loss and food waste. Chitosan, a linear polysaccharide obtained by deacetylation of chitin, has been widely used as an edible coating of fruits. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a chitosan-based edible coating incorporated with Aloe vera and beeswax. Edible coatings were formulated with the following proportions: (% V/W: chitosan: Aloe vera: beeswax) as F1 (chitosan 79.5%: Aloe vera extract 19.5%: beeswax 1%), F2 (chitosan 79.2%: Aloe vera extract 19.2%: beeswax 1.5%), and F3 (chitosan 79%: Aloe vera extract 19%: beeswax 2%). After characterization, films were applied to Musa paradisiaca (banana) and Diospyros kaki (persimmons) varieties: Hychia and Fuyu, respectively, of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The film containing a higher concentration of beeswax, F3, attained the lowest moisture content (22.12% ± 0.57). The edible coatings, especially (F3) treated fruits, improved significantly in the quality attributes of banana and persimmon as: % weight loss (95.11 ± 0.023, 158 ± 0.81), pH (5.3 ± 0.005, 5.67 ± 0.005), titratable acidity (0.521% ± 0.05, 0.692% ± 0.002), total antioxidant capacity (34.6%, 49.2%), decay incidence (30%, 45%). Chitosan and Aloe vera extract incorporated with a beeswax edible coating had a significant effect on all the studied characteristics and there was an increased shelf life for both M. paradisiaca and D. kaki. Our findings demonstrated that a coating enriched with Aloe vera extract and beeswax is an efficient bioformulation to improve shelf life, preserve the properties of fruit, and prevent food loss.