*2.3. Preparation of Coating Solutions*

Preparation of coatings was performed in three steps. First, chitosan solution was prepared by slowly dissolving 1 g of chitosan in 100 mL of 2% acetic acid solution (*v*/*v*) on a magnetic stirrer (350 rpm) to get 1% chitosan solution (*w*/*v*) [23]. For *Aloe vera* gel preparation, *Aloe vera* leaves were peeled with stainless steel knife and gel was extracted. It was then blended and homogenized in a blender and filtered to remove impurities and debris material. A 20% *Aloe vera*–chitosan solution was prepared by mixing 20 mL of *Aloe vera* with 80 mL of prepared chitosan solution (1%). This combination was selected because films of these materials revealed superior barrier and mechanical strength in our previous study [22]. Afterward, glycerol (0.2 g) and tween 20 (0.2 g) were added in chitosan–*Aloe vera* solution. Finally, beeswax was melted at 70 ◦C and mixed with the chitosan–*Aloe vera* solution in the proportions described in Table 1. Coating formulations were homogenized at 13,500 rpm for 3–4 min using ultra-turrax homogenizer (IKA-T18-Germany).


