3.2.4. Firmness

Firmness of fruit is an important indicator of freshness and quality. Firmness of coated mango fruits was tested and compared with uncoated mangoes. Figure 3d reveals the effect of beeswax concentration and storage time on firmness of mango fruits. Firmness of mango fruits was observed to decrease linearly with an increase in storage time for all coating treatments. However, the rate of firmness loss was consistently reduced with addition of beeswax up to 2%. Application of hydroxypropyl and carnauba wax coatings [36] also revealed similar results. Klangmuang and Sothornvit [37] reported that loss in firmness of mango fruits is attributed to cell wall digestion by different enzymes during ripening. Enzymes such as pectin esterase and polyglacturonase trigger the hydrolysis of starch and pectin present in the cell wall. This causes the loss in cellular turgor and subsequent loss of firmness of mango fruits. Emulsified coatings slowed down the metabolic activity in the fruits by controlling the environment of coated fruits, which maintained the firmness in coated samples [38].
