The Effect of Milk-Pectin Protein Concentrate Composite Edible Coating Reinforced by Calcium Chloride and Nigella Sativa L. Essential Oil on the Physicochemical, Antioxidant and Microbial Characteristics of Strawberries During Storage

The aim of this study is to increase the shelf life and quality of strawberries, using a composite coating of concentrated milk protein-pectin reinforced with calcium chloride and Nigella sativa L. essential oil during 10 days of storage at 4±1°C. The effect of edible coating based on condensed milk protein (4, 6 and 8%), pectin (0, 2 and 4%), calcium chloride (1, 2 and 3%), glycerol (2, 3 and 4%) and Nigella sativa L. essential oil (2%) is investigated. After optimizing the microbial quality of coated strawberries, their physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, anthocyanin content, and tissue hardness were compared with the control samples at 5 and 10 days after storage. All the studied qualitative characteristics of the coated samples were significantly different from the control samples (p <0.05). The results showed that this edible coating maintains the quality of strawberries in comparison to the uncoated control samples due to rot reduction.