*3.9. a \* Value*

The a \* value indicates the green/red components. On day zero, a \* value was almost the same in the control and coated samples with values of 32.4 and 32.6, respectively. In the control samples, the a \* value slowly decreased during storage and reached 26.4 on day 15 (*p* < 0.05). The decrease in the a \*value in the control samples might be a response to surface darkening and the formation of a red-brownish color. Additionally, the surface mold growth negatively affected the redness of the fruit samples. The changes in a \* value in the sodium alginate-calcium chloride coated samples was not significant (*p* > 0.05) and almost remained steady during the 15 days of the experiment (Table 1). However, one-way ANOVA statistical analysis did not show a significant overall difference in the a \* value between the control and sodium alginate-calcium chloride coated samples during storage (*p* > 0.05).

It has been reported that the a \* value increased slightly in the sodium alginate coated cherry tomatoes and pectin coated cherry tomatoes stored at 4 ◦C and 12 ◦C. In the control samples, the a \* value was higher due to the increased redness of the cherry tomatoes during the 21 days of storage [27].
