Characterization and application of chitosan, lignin, and fruit peel extracts based edible coatings for the preservation of apple fruits

Approximately 30 % of food is wasted or lost globally; which poses serious threat to food security. Hence, steps should be taken with an aim to prevent and reduce this loss. Chitosan and lignin blended with fruit peel extract were formulated to prepare three edible coatings, i.e., chitosan-lignin banana peel extract (CH-L/BPF), chitosan-lignin mango peel extract (CH-L/MPE), and chitosan-lignin pomegranate peel extract (CH-L/PPE). The three optimized emulsions have been utilized to preserve the apple fruit's shelf life at 25 ± 5 °C with 80–85 % relative humidity for 25 days. The prepared emulsions were characterized by using a zeta sizer, zeta potential, FTIR analysis, XRD, and scanning electron microscopy. The antimicrobial activities of coatings were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and fungi Aspergillus niger. Results have indicated that the inhibition zone against A. niger, S. aureus, and E. coli of 9.64 ± 2.21, 7.33 ± 1.61, and 3.12 ± 0.51 mm of CH-L/PPE -based emulsion, respectively. The quality parameters of preserved apple fruits with three coatings were evaluated during 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days of storage. The quality parameters, i.e., weight loss, firmness, decay incidence, ethylene production, respiration rate, color index, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH levels, and total phenolics and flavonoids contents, were good in CH-L/PPE followed by CH-L/MPE emulsion. The DPPH activity was 72.05 ± 1.55 %, and sensory evaluation in appearance, smell, color, texture, flavor, and acceptability were 6.70, 6.50, 7, 7, 6.50, and 7.15, respectively, against CH-L/PPE emulsion. The results have documented that CH-L/PPE emulsion was effective, followed by CH-L/MPE and CH-L/BPE for preserving and extending the shelf life of apple fruit. The prepared emulsion has strong potential applications in the food industry for packaging fruits and vegetables. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd.