Evaluation of novel <i>Prosopis juliflora</i> water soluble leaf ethanolic extract as preservation coating material of cucumber

<p></p><div> <p>Cucumber (<i>Cucumis sativus</i>) is an economically important vegetable worldwide. Cucumbers have short shelf life with sensitivity to chilling injuries and fungal and bacterial postharvest diseases. <i>Prosopis juliflora</i> water-soluble leaf ethanolic (PJ-WS-LE) extract has a strong antimicrobial activity against many spoiling agents with time-stability and no phytotoxicity on fruits. The present study explores PJ-WS-LE extract efficacy as a coating material to preserve cucumber. 8 mg/ml of PJ-WS-LE extract increased cucumber shelf life at 22°C by 77%. At week 2, cucumber coated with PJ-WS-LE extract alone showed less than 10 CFU/g of mold as well as 76.9% and 85.8% reduction of total yeast and aerobic bacterial counts, respectively. PJ-WS-LE extract treated samples maintained the slightest change in total soluble solids and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity. Embedding PJ-WS-LE extract in 0.5% chitosan did not improve the quality maintaining results. In vivo overall results highlight the potentials of PJ-WS-LE extract as a possible coating replacement of chemical fungicides.</p> <h3> Novelty impact statement</h3> <div> <ul> <li><i>Prosopis juliflora</i> water-soluable leaf ethanolic (PJ-WS-LE) extract extended cucumbers shelf life at 22°C by 77%.</li> <li>PJ-WS-LE extract served as an antimicrobial agent that lowers surrounding bacterial and fungal counts of coated cucumber samples.</li> <li>8 mg/ml of <i>Prosopis juliflora</i> water-soluble leaf ethanolic maintained cucumbers storage quality-parameters up to three weeks at 8°C.</li> </ul> </div> </div><p></p><h2>Other Information</h2> <p> Published in: Journal of Food Processing and Preservation<br> License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.16352" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.16352</a></p>