Enhancing postharvest shelf life of Ficus Rubra using a bio-based Pickering nanoemulsion coating enriched with Pelargonium essential oil

In this research, a Pickering nanoemulsion (PNE) coating was successfully created using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and chitosan (C) combined with Pelargonium essential oil (PEO) at quantities of 0.5%, 1%, and 2%. The essential oil compounds were analyzed using GC-MS data, revealing their beneficial effects against the activities of microorganisms like Staphylococcus aureu s, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Alternaria alternata , and Aspergillus flavus . Additionally, SEM images, average particle size of 147.5 d.nm, zeta potential of -44 mV, and PDI of 0.25 indicated the successful formation of a complex with Pickering CMC-C-PEO, resulting in a stable and antioxidant-rich PNE. The physicochemical properties of fig samples were assessed over 6 days at 25 °C, including weight loss, decay percentage, Juicability, titratable acidity, pH, total soluble solids, total phenol content, total anthocyanin, and total ascorbic acid amounts. As regards the results, the highest content of total phenol (23.93±1.32 mg/100 g sample), total anthocyanin content (52.04±1.81 mg/100 g sample), and the lowest decay percentage (12.50±12.50 %) were associated with the sample coated with PNE of CMC-C-PEO 2%. In contrast, the control samples exhibited the opposite trend for these factors, respectively (17.87±2.62 mg/100 g sample, 13.70±1.60 mg/100 g sample and 87.50±12.50% mg/100 g sample). The findings demonstrated that the prepared PNE effectively mitigates physicochemical changes in the samples during storage while also controlling mesophilic bacteria, mold, and yeast levels in fig treatments based on the PEO content. Overall, the results indicate that the developed PNE enhances the shelf life of fig samples.