Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Sonqor Faculty of Agriculture, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Abstract
Keywords
Main Subjects
Given the high sensitivity of basil leaves in the post-harvest stages and their severe quality decline in a short period of time, it is important to use packaging that maintains quality throughout the post-harvest period until it reaches the consumer. In recent years, methods have been proposed to maintain the quality of agricultural products, including the use of Nano film, modified atmosphere, coating, storage temperature control, etc. Packaging of fresh products in polyethylene bags has now become a common method. Packaging changes the composition of the air to provide an optimal environment for maintaining quality. The use of films equipped with nanoparticle due to the structure of these particles in the desired film and the modification of the permeability of the packaging film will have a direct impact on the respiration of agricultural products during storage. At present, scientists have realized the importance of identifying and determining odor in many fields. Odor measurement is an advanced and particularly effective method in obtaining parameters affecting food quality. In this study, basil leaves packaged with regular polyethylene film and polyethylene equipped with Nano particles were evaluated under normal and modified atmosphere conditions. Physical and chemical properties were measured during the storage period, and the odor of the samples was also examined as a quality indicator of basil using an electronic nose (e-nose) system.
This research was conducted on Holy Basil variety. The samples were divided into two groups, one group without coating (Control) and the other group was coated with 1% chitosan by immersion method. Two types of light polyethylene films (LDPE) and polyethylene equipped with Nano clay particles (Nano) were used to package the samples. Also, two atmospheric conditions were considered for the gas inside the packages. Half of the samples were filled with ambient atmosphere (control) and the other half with modified atmosphere (MAP) containing 5% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide. The dimensions of the packages were 10×10 square centimeters and 20 grams of basil sample were placed in each package. During the 10-day storage period, the samples from each package were evaluated once every other day. All physical and chemical tests were performed in 3 repetitions and e-nose tests in 8 repetitions. The tests performed included:
1-Measurement of acidity, pH and TSS
2-Investigation of total phenol content
3-Investigation of weight loss and color indices
4-Investigation of aromatic properties during the storage period
Finally, data analysis was performed using response surface methodology (RSM) and neural-fuzzy network (ANFIS).
The results of the analysis of variance of the data showed that the storage period, the atmosphere inside the package, the film and the coating had a significant effect at the 95 and 99 percent level on the changes in the weight of the samples. The results of the analysis of variance of the TPC showed a significant effect (at the 99 percent level) of the storage period, the film and the coating on the changes in this factor, while the effect of the atmosphere inside the package was not significant. The storage period, coating, the atmosphere inside the package and the film had a significant effect at the 1 and 5 percent level on some sensors. At the end of the storage period, the highest change (increase) in pH was in LCCh samples, at 17.48%, and the lowest change was in NMC samples, at 11.84%. While the highest TSS changes were in LCC samples, and the lowest changes were in NMCh samples, at 6.78 and 2.26%, respectively. The confusion matrix obtained from ANFIS for the samples with different packaging gases was classified with an accuracy of 100 percent. The accuracy of detecting storage day, film type, and coating was reported to be 98%, 94%, and 91%, respectively.
The results showed that under the same conditions, samples packaged with Nano film had less weight loss than samples packaged with PE film. The RSM with higher accuracy in all 4 classification criteria (based on storage period, coating, film and gas inside the package) was reported to be a more suitable method than the neuro-fuzzy method. Also, the use of e-nose machine is a suitable tool for identifying samples. The proper performance of the e-nose in identifying samples can indicate the promising application of this technology in separating samples.
All authors contributed equally to the conceptualization of the article and writing of the original and subsequent drafts.
Data available on request from the authors.
This research was carried out in Razi University, Kermanshah-IRAN. Therefore, the authors are thankful to Razi University for their supporting.
The study was approved by the research Committee of the University of Razi. The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.
The author declares no conflict of interest
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