The Effects of Wrapping Paper Coated with Banana Flour on Physical Properties of Banana Fruit

Abstract

Banana is one of the economic plants of Thailand, however, it undergoes rapid ripening which affects the short selling period. The utilization of paper wrapping application is used for respiratory reduction and retarding maturity to extend the selling and transportation period. The aims of this research were to study how bananas wrapped with paper coated with banana flour and zeolite or charcoal powder effect the physical properties and rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) release compared to unwrapped bananas. The wrapped and control bananas were kept in room condition (30C and 70%RH) for 6 days. The results showed that all the treatments were reduced in weight, firmness and CO2 release but increased in Total Soluble Solid (TSS) and color difference (E). The CO2 content of wrapped bananas increased in the initial day of the storage and reduced after that. The zeolite and charcoal powder compound affected bananas with high weight loss and soft texture, moreover, black spots of charcoal powder caused high E. Banana flour affected lower weight loss, CO2 release and E of the banana than the control bananas (p<0.05), but the firmness change of bananas wrapped with paper coated with banana flour was not significant different from the control bananas (p>0.05) which had lower changes than the others. Therefore, bananas wrapped with paper coated with only banana flour could maintain the quality of bananas in terms of weight, CO2 release, firmness and E during the storage. 