Abstract:

The effects of coating with chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coating as well
as combination on the quality of “Xinbaihua” peach (Prunus persica) stored at (3 ± 1) ℃ were explored. When used
separately, 0.1 g/100 mL PVP and 2 g/100 mL COS were very useful to inhibit the increases in respiration intensity and
relative conductivity and retard the decreases in firmness and total soluble solid (TSS) content. Furthermore we evaluated
the effectiveness of the combined use of 0.1 g/100 mL PVP and 2 g/100 mL COS to preserve refrigerated peaches. Coating
with 2 g/100 mL COS led to a significantly higher TSS level after 25 days of storage than the control (P ＜ 0.05), effectively
postponed the decomposition of sugars, and potently inhibited the generation of MDA and PPO, and 0.1 g/100 mL PVP
had a similar effect on fruit respiration but exhibited weaker effects on other indicators in comparison to 2 g/100 mL COS.
Treatment with 2 g/100 mL COS and 0.1 g/100 mL PVP exerted a more significant inhibitory effect on fruit respiration (P ＜
0.05) than the control and markedly slowed down the upward trend of relative conductivity and MDA content, demonstrating
the protective effect of this combined treatment on the cell wall and membrane of peach fruits.

Key words: juicy peach, PVP, COS, coating