Incremento del tiempo de conservación del Solanum betaceum (tomate de árbol), mediante el uso de tres recubrimientos comestibles enriquecido con aceite esencial de mandarina (Citrus unshulu).

Abstract

The objective was to increase the shelf life of tree tomatoes by using three edible coatings enriched with tangerine essence oil, for which a bifactorial completely randomized design was used, where the factors were the type of edible coating and the days of storage, using ADEVA as statistical tools, separation of means by Tukey, regression calculation and multiple correlation. The results indicate the highest responses when tomatoes were coated with freeze-dried collagen with values of 35.10 L* coordinate; 23.31 (a* coordinate); 27.90 b* coordinate and 3.50 firmness; as well as pH (5.97), acidity (1.68%) and brix degrees (11.04°); where the lowest values were reached. The effectiveness of alginate and potato starch as antimicrobial agents to prevent the growth of mesophilic aerobes, molds and yeasts in stored tree tomatoes was proven in comparison to the control sample, which presented the highest count of 3.75x10+0 (CFU)/g at 28 days of storage. The highest cost benefit was obtained when using freeze-dried collagen as edible coating on the tree tomato, since the benefit-cost ratio values were 1.20, that is, for each dollar invested, a profit of 20 cents is obtained, or the same as 20% profit. The application of edible coatings is recommended since their effect preserves the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of foods for longer periods, in addition to possessing antimicrobial properties, protecting them from decay.