3.2.3. pH

Concentration of beeswax in the coating solution significantly affected the pH of mangoes during storage, as shown in Figure 3c. A linear and rapid increase in concentration of hydronium ion was observed for uncoated fruits. As the storage time was increased, their change in pH became more pronounced. All the coating formulations significantly hindered the change in pH as compared to the uncoated treatments. However, treatment S4 was the most efficient in reducing the rate of change in pH. Increase in pH values is attributed to an increase in conversion of organic acids into sugars [35]. As explained in the section above, TSS values changed slightly for mango coated with 2% beeswax (S4). Therefore, minimum variations in pH were observed for samples treated with S4 as compared to control samples. Findings of Velickova et al. [23] support the results obtained in the current study, who applied chitosan–beeswax coatings on strawberries.
