The Effect of Moringa Seeds Oil and Shea Butter Oil Waxing On the Post-Harvest Life of Tomato Fruit (Solanum lycopersicum)

Tomato belongs to the family, Solanaceae and the genus Lycopersicon, is considered as one of the best healthy foods in the world due to its rich source of vitamin B and phyto-nutrients and abundant in carotenoids and lycopene. There has not been alternative means of preservation asides refrigeration as fast ripening disorder sets in and reduce its shelf life as the level of its calcium and potassium reduces during these processes. Post-harvest waxing has proved to be the alternative means of extending its shelf life. Standard analytical methods were used to test for colour, hardness, ash content, moisture content, total solid, brix, pH and total titrable acidity for two single and eight composite waxing (shea butter and moringa) of tomato fruits from day one to seven respectively. Waxing helps to delay the effect of divalent cations, which played an essential role in pectin metabolism and result to tissue softening in the pericarp of tomato fruit during ripening. The result obtained indicated that single oil waxing at 100%MOT (100% moringa oil) yielded good result up to five days while composite oil waxing at 10:90MST (10%moringa and 90%shea butter) could retard the effect of divalent cations for ripening for four days than the rest of waxing in single and composite oil waxing respectively.