Data from the
first experiments do not coincide with those
reported by Muy-Rangel et al. (2009), who reported higher weight
loss in ‘Ataulfo’ mango covered with an edible chitosan
film than
the fruit treated with 1-MCP or the combination of both. These
authors point out that this was due to the high water permeability
of the
film, while the wax TFC 210, used in this work is composed of
carnauba which is relatively hydrophobic and presents a good
barrier to moisture loss (Baldwin et al., 1999).
The water vapor permeability of waxes determines their
effectiveness to control weight loss. Hoa and Ducamp (2008)
analyzed weight loss for 6 d at room temperature in ‘cat Hoa loc’
mango covered with six different waxes, indicating that TFC 210
and TFC 150 waxes resulted in the lowest weight loss, consistent
with results in this experiment. The present results also agree
with those reported by Jeong et al. (2003), in which avocado
treated with wax or wax + 1-MCP had lower weight loss than the
control or 1-MCP treated fruit. This seems to support the idea that
metabolic activity is not directly responsible for weight loss