THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHITOSAN COATING FROM OYSTER MUSHROOM ON BANANA FRUIT’S SHELF LIFE

Abstract

This research was aimed to study the efficiency of the chitosan coating from oyster mushroom on extension of banana’s shelf life. According to previous study on fruit aging, polyvinyl chloride: a food wrap film was coated with glycerol. It was found that the life of the banana could be extended up to 9 days at room temperature. The researcher, therefore, was interested in applying chitosan coatings obtained from Oyster mushroom; which contains the third highest content of chitosan out of 7 edible mushrooms, easy to grow and not expensive, to have a plastic condition as the food wrap film by applying glycerol and also tween 80 with the chitosan. The effect of the developed chitosan was further studied on the changes of banana’s fruit during storage at room temperature. They were observed the color changing and % weight loss in every 5 days for a total period of 10 days. The coatings were tested for the viscosity and adhesion to the surface before being used for further testing. The results showed that: 1) the coated bananas had a higher quality than the uncoated ones, and 2) the bananas coated with the chitosan that was used with glycerol and tween 80 had a higher quality than the normal one. Moreover, it can extend the shelf life of banana fruit to around 10 days or more than at room temperature or at 25 degree Celsius.