Innovative active packaging with basil seed gum and probiotic lactiplantibacillus pentosus v390 for strawberry preservation: preparation, characterization, and modeling

Abstract

Strawberries are extremely perishable and have a limited shelf life, making it crucial to utilize advanced technologies such as edible coatings to minimize post-harvest damage. The rising consumer interest in probiotic foods, driven by health concerns, has led to greater emphasis on these products. This study aimed to investigate the effects of basil seed gum (Ocimum basilicum) and the probiotic bacteria in edible coatings on the physicochemical, microbial, and sensory properties of strawberries. The strawberries were subjected to several treatments: a gum coating (Gum), a gum coating containing 1.5 × 10⁸ CFU/mL of probiotic cells (1.5 × 10⁸B-Gum), and a gum coating with 3 × 10⁹ CFU/mL of probiotic cells (3 × 10⁹B-Gum), while an uncoated sample served as the control. The results indicated that the coating containing the higher concentration of probiotics (3 × 10⁹ CFU/mL) significantly enhanced various physicochemical attributes of the strawberries relative to the control, leading to reduced weight loss, decay, and a slower deterioration of vitamin C, phenolic compounds, and anthocyanins throughout storage. Additionally, the probiotic coatings (3 × 10⁹B-Gum) effectively preserved the fruit’s hardness and sensory qualities over time. This approach presents an innovative method for developing new functional foods and extends the shelf life of strawberries. In this study, Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP-NN) model was used to predict all the laboratory factors. The results indicated that MLP can predict all the parameters with Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of lower than 4%. So, this model can be used for further evaluation and decrease the final cost of similar studies. These findings suggest that probiotic-infused gum coatings can serve as a viable alternative to chemical preservatives, enhancing the nutritional value of the fruit compared to the control.