This study is aimed to develop a novel edible coating based on Plantago major seed mucilage (PMSM) and Citrus limon essential oil (CLEO) to increase the shelf‐life of buffalo meat during cold storage. The CLEO was firstly isolated by the hydrodistillation method, and it contained mainly limonene (40.5%) and carene (15.4%) with remarkable antioxidant activity (55.7%, 63.8%, and 51.85% based on the DPPH‐radical scavenging, ABTS‐radical scavenging, and carotene‐linoleic acid bleaching tests, respectively) and antibacterial effect against some pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms. The CLEO (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%) was then incorporated into PMSM solution to develop a novel CLEO‐loaded PMSM edible coating for improving the shelf‐life of buffalo meat. The edible coating was able to significantly reduce the progression of lipid oxidation (peroxide value) and microbial growth (total viable count, psychrotrophic bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and fungi) in buffalo meat during storage period of 10 days at 4°C in comparison with the control (noncoated sample). The meat hardness and sensory properties (i.e., odor, color, appearance, texture, and overall acceptability) were also maintained better upon edible coating applications. Based on the results, the CLEO‐rich PMSM edible coating could be applied as a new and effective preservative to improve the stability of meat products to lipid oxidation and microbial spoilage.

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Background and Objectives: Production and consumption of freshly-cut fruits have been increased in recent decades. One of the major problems in storage of freshly-cut fruits, the color change, is a result of the oxidative reactions of phenolic compounds by polyphenol oxidases. Various treatments such as coating and refrigeration are used to improve quality and shelf-life of the fresh-cut fruits. The aim of this study was to assess effects of various functional mucilages as polysaccharide food coatings on qualitative parameters of freshly-cut apple slices during cold storage. Materials and Methods: In this study, active edible coatings, using Plantago major, P. psyllium and Descurainia Sophia mucilages, were prepared. Then, effects of various coating solutions on physicochemical characterizes of freshlycut apple slices were assessed during cold storage. Results: Results indicated that samples treated with D. sophia included the greatest titrable acidity value and the lowest brix and browning index (BI), compared to another treatment. On Day 10 of storage, samples treated with P. psyllium showed the highest contents of vitamin C, firmness and inhibitory effects on the bacterial growth. Use of P. psyllium, as an edible coating, produced a 0.7 log CFU/g decrease in bacterial counts. Conclusions: In conclusion, P. psyllium L. mucilage is recommended as a novel edible coating to improve quality of freshly-cut apples.

Ficus religiosa L. is one of the most popular species in the Moraceae family that is known as a multipurpose forest tree species because of its medicinal, ornamental, and religious value. F. religiosa is an important tree in South Asia, and it possesses various common names such as peepal, bodhi, bo tree, and asvattha. This species as a traditional tree is broadly planted as a roadside tree, and it plays an important role as a medicinal tree in various diseases such as asthma, stomatitis, diabetes, inflammations, glandular swelling disorders, and wound healing. Because F. religiosa is characterized as a subtropical tree, it fully grew in southern parts of Iran. The morphological variation of 72 individuals of F. religiosa from six southern regions of Iran was investigated based on multivariate analysis. Our results indicated that the highest tree, leaf, and petiole lengths, as well as leaf width, were observed in Kish and Qeshm genotypes, whereas the Chabahar genotype had the lowest petiole length. Results of simple correlation analysis showed the existence of significant positive and negative correlations among some important parameters. The highest correlation was observed between leaf, tree, and petiole lengths. Populations were clustered in four groups. The Kish and Qeshm genotypes were closely related to each other and differentiated from the Chabahar genotype. The whole dataset was subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). PCA showed that the first two factor components explained 84.51% of the variation and the first factor component had the positive relationship with leaf, tree, and petiole lengths.

Plant essential oils are frequently used as natural preservatives to decrease the toxicity of synthetic fungicides and environmental pollution. This study was aimed to investigate the antifungal effect of Vitex agnus-castus essential oil on Penicillium digitatum and Penicillium italicum causing orange rot. The essential oil of V. agnuscastus was extracted by the hydrodistillation method and the extraction yield was 0.95% w/w. The total phenol and flavonoids content of the essential oil were also measured and the results showed that the essential oil is rich in phenolics (91.74 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (52.32 mg QE/g). The evaluation of antioxidant activity of the V. agnus-castus essential oil showed that the bioactive compound is able to effectively scavenge DPPH (IC 50 = 48.62 μg/mL) and ABTS (IC 50 = 40.50 μg/mL) free radicals. The antifungal activity of the V. agnus-castus essential oil was evaluated against P. digitatum and P. italicum, based on disk diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, and minimum inhibitory/fungicidal concentration methods. And P. digitatum was more sensitive to the essential oil and lower concentration of the bioactive compound was able to inhibit the growth of or kill the species. In general, the results of this study showed that the V. agnus-castus essential oil is rich in bioactive compounds with remarkable antioxidant and antifungal activities, and it could be applied as a natural preservative to increase the shelf-life of food products.

In this study, the antifungal activity of Boswellia sacra essential oil was evaluated against fungi species causing strawberry rot (Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus niger, and Rhizopus stolonifer), via well diffusion agar, disk diffusion agar, microdilution broth, and minimum fungicidal concentration methods. Extraction yield, total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging methods) of the essential oil were also determined. The extraction yield of the oil was 1.30% w/w and its total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 69.37 mg GAE/g and 38.40 mg QE/g, respectively. The antioxidant activity of B. sacra essential oil, based on the DPPH-and ABTS-radical scavenging activity, were found to be 57.50% and 48.66%, respectively. According to the results of disk/well diffusion agar tests, B. cinerea andR.stolonifer were the most sensitive (the highest inhibition zone) and resistant (the lowest inhibition zone) fungal species to the B. sacra essential oil, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration were, respectively, ranged from 25-50 and 200-400 mg/ml. Based on the results, the B. sacraessential oil contains bioactive compounds with appropriate antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, and it could be therefore used as a natural preservative agent to increase the shelf-life of various food products.