Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles in Mitigating Postharvest Losses of Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract

The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from biological waste is an emerging technology that has excellent antibacterial properties. The present study has been designed to prepare silver nanoparticles by adopting green synthesis, which is based on the drying of fruits and vegetable peel to form silver nanoparticles. Two types of fruits (apples and tomatoes) and three types of vegetables (carrots, capsicum, and cucumber) were divided into three groups: one group was kept without any treatment, the second group was subjected to nanoparticles without silver nitrate, and the third group was subjected to silver nanoparticles. All the groups were stored for 15 days at room temperature and assessed for the physiochemical analysis of fruits and vegetables at 0 and 15th day and weight loss at 0, 5, 10, and 15th day of storage. Specifically, the titratable acidity of apples increased from 1.45 to 1.47 g/L, whereas nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles-treated apples ranged from 1.40 to 1.43 g/L. For tomatoes, the titratable acidity decreased from 0.54 to 0.44 g/L in controls, compared to 0.39–0.44 g/L in treated samples. Carrots in the control group decreased from 0.38 to 0.32 g/L, whereas treated samples maintained 0.29–0.34 g/L. Capsicum's acidity fell from 0.37 to 0.27 g/L in controls, compared to 0.28–0.32 g/L in treated capsicum. Cucumber's acidity decreased from 0.23 to 0.17 g/L in controls, whereas treated cucumbers showed 0.40–0.46 g/L. Overall, the nanoparticle treatments were effective in preserving the produce's titratable acidity, indicating enhanced freshness and extended shelf life. It was examined that treatments treated with nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles have a great impact on the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. There is a great possibility of using nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles in combination with peel extract of fruits and vegetables to improve the shelf life of vegetables and fruits.