*Article* **The Effects of a Gum Arabic-Based Edible Coating on Guava Fruit Characteristics during Storage**

**Sherif Fathy El-Gioushy 1,\*, Mohamed F. M. Abdelkader 2, Mohamed H. Mahmoud 3, Hanan M. Abou El Ghit 4, Mohammad Fikry 5, Asmaa M. E. Bahloul 6, Amany R. Morsy 7, Lo'ay A. A. 8,\*, Adel M. R. A. Abdelaziz 9, Haifa A. S. Alhaithloul 10, Dalia M. Hikal 11, Mohamed A. Abdein 12,\*, Khairy H. A. Hassan <sup>13</sup> and Mohamed S. Gawish <sup>14</sup>**

	- <sup>11</sup> Nutrition and Food Science, Home Economics Department, Faculty of Specific
	- Education, Mansura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt; dr.daliahikal@mans.edu.eg
	- <sup>12</sup> Biology Department, Faculty of Arts and Science, Northern Border University, Rafha 91911, Saudi Arabia <sup>13</sup> Tropical Fruits Research Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, Giza 12619, Egypt; kh11191@ymail.com
	- <sup>14</sup> Pomology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Damietta 34511, Egypt; msagawishaa@gmail.com
	- **\*** Correspondence: sherif.elgioushy@fagr.bu.edu.eg (S.F.E.-G.); Loay\_Arafat@mans.edu.eg (L.A.A.); abdeingene@yahoo.com (M.A.A.)

**Abstract:** Guava is a nutritious fruit that has perishable behavior during storage. We aimed to determine the influences of some edible coatings (namely, cactus pear stem (10%), moringa (10%), and henna leaf (3%) extracts incorporated with gum Arabic (10%)), on the guava fruits' properties when stored under ambient and refrigeration temperatures for 7, 14, and 21 days. The results revealed that the coating with gum Arabic (10%) only, or combined with the natural plant extracts, exhibited a significant reduction in weight loss, decay, and rot ratio. Meanwhile, there were notable increases in marketability. Moreover, among all tested treatments, the application of gum Arabic (10%) + moringa extract (10%) was the superior treatment for most studied parameters, and exhibited for the highest values for maintaining firmness, total soluble solids, total sugars, and total antioxidant activity. Overall, it was suggested that coating guava with 10% gum Arabic combined with other plant extracts could maintain the postharvest storage quality of the cold-storage guava.

**Keywords:** guava; edible coating; gum Arabic; natural plant extracts; storability
