Introduction. Our investigation
aimed to examine the influence of eco-friendly edible coatings composed
of sodium alginate, olive oil and green tea extract (GTE) on improving
the shelf life and nutritional quality of carambola (A. carambola L.).
Materials and methods. The combinations and concentrations
of composite coatings tested were (2% sodium alginate + 0.1% olive
oil) (T1), (2% sodium alginate + 0.2% olive oil) (T2) and (2% sodium
alginate + 0.1% olive oil + 0.25% GTE) (T3), while the untreated
fruit served as control (T4) and were stored at (25 ± 5) °C and
(65 ± 5)% RH. All the stored fruit were subjected to physico-chemical
and biochemical analysis at regular intervals of 4 days up to 16 days
of their storage period. Results and discussion. Weight
loss and decay occurrence were least in the fruit treated with T1
and T2 as compared with those of T3 and uncoated fruit (T4). The
contents of total soluble solids, total sugars and changes in pigments
were found to be least in fruit treated with T1 followed by those
treated with T2 and T3. The addition of GTE (T3) to treated fruit during
the storage helped enhance the antioxidants such as total phenols and
ascorbic acid. Conclusion. The composite edible coatings
tested in our study enhanced the shelf life of coated carambola
fruit, i.e., thirteen days for T1, sixteen days
for T2, fourteen days for T3 and twelve days for control or untreated
fruit (T4); the nutritional quality of carambola was enhanced with
the treatment of edible coating containing GTE.