Biopreservation of Fresh Strawberries by Carboxymethyl Cellulose Edible Coatings Enriched with a Bacteriocin of Bacillus methylotrophicus BM47

Bacteriocins are a large group of antimicrobial compoundsthat aresynthesized byrepresentatives ofthegenus Bacillusand lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Bacteriocinsare used extensively in thefood industry as biopreservatives. Incorporatedin the composition of edible coatings, bacteriocins canreduce microbial growthand decay incidencein perishable fruits, thusimproving productshelf-life and commercial appearance. The present study aims to investigatethe effect of edible coatings of0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) enriched with a purified bacteriocin fromBacillus methylotrophicusBM47 on the shelf-life extension of fresh strawberries. During storage at 4°Cand 75 % relative humidity(RH) for 16 days, measurements of massloss, decay percentage, total soluble solids(TSS), titratable acidity(TA),pH, organic acids, total phenolic and anthocyaninscontents and antioxidant activity were taken.The results demonstrated that the application of 0.5% CMC and 0.5% CMC+bacteriocin (CMC+B) edible coatings led to a significant decrease of massloss in treated strawberriescompared to the uncoated fruit. After the 8-th day of storage, significant reductions in decay percentage along with the absence of fungal growth in CMC+B-coated fruit wereobserved in comparison to the CMC-coated and control strawberries. During the second half of the storage period, CMC and CMC+B treatmentsreduced TSS levels inthe coated fruitcompared to the control, but did not affectincreasedTA and loweredpH valuesthat arenormally associated with post-harvest changes. The CMC and CMC+B coatings wereineffectiveagainst thedecrease inascorbic acid, total phenolics and anthocyanins contentduringcold storage. The application of CMC and CMC+B coatingsexhibited a significant inhibitory effect on decreasing antioxidant activity throughout the storage period and maintained the antioxidant levels inboth treatmentsclose to the initial value of 76.8 mmol TE/100 g of fm.