Physiology and quality of 'Tahiti' acid lime coated with nanocellulose-based nanocomposites

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological response and quality of the ‘Tahiti’ acid lime coated with carboxymethylcellulose (N-CMC), pectin (N-PEC) and starch (N-ST) nanocomposites based on cellulose nanocrystals (NC). Respiratory rate, ethylene production, loss of fresh weight, total chlorophyll and fruit firmness were evaluated during 9 days of storage. At the end of storage, only fruits coated with N-CMC and N-PEC exhibited significantly lower ethylene yield (0.92 and 0.98 μg C2H4 kg-1 h-1, respectively) than fruits coated with CMC and PEC (1.6 and 2.02 μg C2H4 kg-1 h-1, respectively). On the 3rd day of storage, fruits coated with N-PEC showed a respiratory rate (12.01 mg CO2 kg-1 h-1) similar to the fruits of the control (13.52 mg CO2 kg-1 h-1), but it was significantly lower than the fruits coated with PEC (14.93 mg CO2 kg-1 h-1). Only fruits coated with N-PEC showed significantly lower fresh weight losses than the control fruits. Fruits coated with N-PEC had chlorophyll retention levels (18.95 mg g-1) higher than fruits with PEC (13.25 mg g-1). This work showed that the N-PEC nanocomposite, based on NC, was the coating that showed greater potential for preserving quality of the ‘Tahiti’ acid lime.