3.2. Moisture content
For marketing purpose, moisture content is considered to be the
most important parameter of fruits and vegetables. Excess moisture
loss leads to shrinkage of fruit surface thus reducing its market
value. To solve this problem, using edible coating to reduce moisture loss is the most suitable method of choice. In the present study,
moisture loss occurred during storage in eggplants in all the
treatments but was the highest in untreated fruits (Fig. 1A). After 12
days of storage, moisture content was the maximum (84.42 g/100 g
and 81.60 g/100 g) in T2 formulation while it was the minimum
(75.91 g/100 g and 70.56 g/100 g) moisture content in control
eggplants with polypropylene packaged and unpackaged fruits,
respectively. Higher moisture retention in coated fruits could be
attributed to the moisture barrier properties of carnauba wax.
Olivas, Rodriguez, and Barbosa-Canovas (2003) also reported that
edible coating acts as barrier for water loss causing high relative
humidity in microclimate surrounding fruit surface leading to
reduced moisture gradient to the exterior.