Review reveals enhanced postharvest preservation of berries using bioactive and nano-reinforced chitosan coatings, highlighting their potential to extend shelf life.
Berries are highly perishable products that experience swift postharvest degradation due to elevated moisture levels, fragile texture and vulnerability to microorganisms. Chitosan-based edible coatings have emerged as viable biodegradable alternatives to traditional preservation methods due to their film-forming, antibacterial and antioxidant characteristics. This review rigorously evaluates recent developments in chitosan coatings, highlighting the integration of bioactive compounds and nano-enabled systems. These coatings function by establishing semipermeable barriers, regulating respiration and ethylene dynamics, augmenting antioxidant defence and inhibiting microbial proliferation. Nano-reinforced formulations enhance barrier efficacy and regulate the release of active ingredients, hence prolonging shelf life. Nonetheless, challenges pertaining to standardisation, safety certification and industrial scalability persist as significant limitations.
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Kanagesan et al. (2026) studied this question.
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