About this Research Topic
Postharvest handling practices of fruits had mainly included cold storage and fungicide application for many years. The escalated public awareness about the negative aspects of synthetic pesticides in postharvest has enabled more attention towards plant natural compounds that can act as a potential replacement for synthetic pesticides. This process of preservation has changed over time and new technologies have been introduced into the use, including new cooling systems (with atmospheric gaseous and ethylene control), smart packaging, edible film/coating packaging, nanotechnologies and etc. Hence in this Research Topic we will discuss the available plant natural compounds and their role in reducing the postharvest losses in bananas, apples, citrus, grapes and kiwifruits.
Fruits play a significant role in a balance healthy diet of a human and so considered as an important food commodity around the world. Hence world’s fruit demand is constantly increasing. Currently, Asia is the leading producer of various tropical fruits of about 86% of the total world’s production (Nor & Ding, 2020). A survey states that 30% of the fruits harvested are considered unfit for consumption due to their spoilage after harvesting (Sharma & Singh, 2011). Hence postharvest loss is considered to be the most significant loss in the food supply chain which needs utmost importance to ensure the food security for the future. The major postharvest losses are mechanical distortion and the microbial degradation that significantly reduced the quality as well the quantity of the fresh fruits (Lee et al., 1996). It was believed that fruits industries are in compulsion to use synthetic pesticides to control the postharvest losses. However, the negative effects of synthetic pesticides towards the human health and environment have overshined their positive effects. Hence scientific community was urged to look for an alternative to control the postharvest losses in the fresh fruits. Natural compounds derived from plants have been ranked superior in controlling the postharvest losses.
Plant natural products are environmentally friendly materials, and are successful and applicable alternatives to synthetic chemicals for the preservation of food quality preservation and ensuring the food safety. Various materials, developed from the plant natural products, have been applied to maintain fruit quality after harvest by ensuring safety. These include plant essential oils (Kahramanoğlu et al., 2018; Kahramanoğlu 2019), plant extracts (Gatto et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2019b), plant gel (Anjum et al., 2020; Kahramanoğlu et al., 2020) and other edible films and coatings (Palou et al., 2015; Ncama et al., 2018; Riva et al., 2020; Chen et al., 2019; Nor and Ding, 2020).
Among these, natural polymers (proteins and polysaccharides) and plant-derived secondary metabolites (i.e. essential oils) have received much attention in the postharvest studies because of their biodegradability (Arnon et al., 2015; Nor and Ding, 2020). The development and use of those materials are believed to help protecting postharvest quality and safety of fruits.
Therefore, this Research Topic aims to discuss the current knowledge about the use of plant natural products in postharvest handling practices with review papers and publish novel studies on strategies to help to develop and use plant natural products for maintaining fruit quality and safety during storage. This Research Topic will present new, innovative, environmentally friendly and human safety materials and technologies for the readers. It would provide a plenty of up-to-date information about the use of plant natural products in fruit preservation and provide practical information for students, teachers, professors, scientists, farmers, food packers & sellers, and entrepreneurs engaged in fresh fruit preservation industry.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• The effects of plant natural products on main postharvest pathogens of fruits (bananas, apples, citrus, grapes and kiwifruits etc)
• Emerging technologies (including but not limited with smart packaging, edible film/coating packaging and nanotechnologies) for the postharvest storage of fruits (bananas, apples, citrus, grapes and kiwifruits etc)
• Use of plant natural products for the postharvest storage of fruits (bananas, apples, citrus, grapes and kiwifruits etc)
• Sensory effects of plant natural products and traditional methods on fruits’ quality
• Potential toxic effects of traditional storage techniques and new emerging technologies on the fruits
• Advantages and prospective of plant natural products in fruits post harvest management
• Improved oxidative stability of fruits by the application of plant natural products
• Design, methods of preparation, manufacture and application of plant natural products in fruits post harvest management,
• Biochemical and physical properties of plant natural products
• Effects of plant natural products on fruit structure, physical properties, bioactive constituents of fruits (mode of action)
Fruits play a significant role in a balance healthy diet of a human and so considered as an important food commodity around the world. Hence world’s fruit demand is constantly increasing. Currently, Asia is the leading producer of various tropical fruits of about 86% of the total world’s production (Nor & Ding, 2020). A survey states that 30% of the fruits harvested are considered unfit for consumption due to their spoilage after harvesting (Sharma & Singh, 2011). Hence postharvest loss is considered to be the most significant loss in the food supply chain which needs utmost importance to ensure the food security for the future. The major postharvest losses are mechanical distortion and the microbial degradation that significantly reduced the quality as well the quantity of the fresh fruits (Lee et al., 1996). It was believed that fruits industries are in compulsion to use synthetic pesticides to control the postharvest losses. However, the negative effects of synthetic pesticides towards the human health and environment have overshined their positive effects. Hence scientific community was urged to look for an alternative to control the postharvest losses in the fresh fruits. Natural compounds derived from plants have been ranked superior in controlling the postharvest losses.
Plant natural products are environmentally friendly materials, and are successful and applicable alternatives to synthetic chemicals for the preservation of food quality preservation and ensuring the food safety. Various materials, developed from the plant natural products, have been applied to maintain fruit quality after harvest by ensuring safety. These include plant essential oils (Kahramanoğlu et al., 2018; Kahramanoğlu 2019), plant extracts (Gatto et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2019b), plant gel (Anjum et al., 2020; Kahramanoğlu et al., 2020) and other edible films and coatings (Palou et al., 2015; Ncama et al., 2018; Riva et al., 2020; Chen et al., 2019; Nor and Ding, 2020).
Among these, natural polymers (proteins and polysaccharides) and plant-derived secondary metabolites (i.e. essential oils) have received much attention in the postharvest studies because of their biodegradability (Arnon et al., 2015; Nor and Ding, 2020). The development and use of those materials are believed to help protecting postharvest quality and safety of fruits.
Therefore, this Research Topic aims to discuss the current knowledge about the use of plant natural products in postharvest handling practices with review papers and publish novel studies on strategies to help to develop and use plant natural products for maintaining fruit quality and safety during storage. This Research Topic will present new, innovative, environmentally friendly and human safety materials and technologies for the readers. It would provide a plenty of up-to-date information about the use of plant natural products in fruit preservation and provide practical information for students, teachers, professors, scientists, farmers, food packers & sellers, and entrepreneurs engaged in fresh fruit preservation industry.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• The effects of plant natural products on main postharvest pathogens of fruits (bananas, apples, citrus, grapes and kiwifruits etc)
• Emerging technologies (including but not limited with smart packaging, edible film/coating packaging and nanotechnologies) for the postharvest storage of fruits (bananas, apples, citrus, grapes and kiwifruits etc)
• Use of plant natural products for the postharvest storage of fruits (bananas, apples, citrus, grapes and kiwifruits etc)
• Sensory effects of plant natural products and traditional methods on fruits’ quality
• Potential toxic effects of traditional storage techniques and new emerging technologies on the fruits
• Advantages and prospective of plant natural products in fruits post harvest management
• Improved oxidative stability of fruits by the application of plant natural products
• Design, methods of preparation, manufacture and application of plant natural products in fruits post harvest management,
• Biochemical and physical properties of plant natural products
• Effects of plant natural products on fruit structure, physical properties, bioactive constituents of fruits (mode of action)
Keywords: natural products, emerging techologies, food science
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