Effect of Pretreatment on Quality Characteristics of Green Chillies during Storage

The effect of edible coatings (viz. Liquid paraffin and Aloe-Vera gel) on different quality characteristics of fresh green chillies were studied. Two varieties of green chilli viz. tropica and crumpy were used for the study. The samples were stored for 6 weeks at refrigerated conditions (7ºC) during the study. Changes in various quality characteristics of chillies were analyzed during storage viz. moisture content, chlorophyll content, capsaicin content, vitamin-C content and β-carotene. No significant differences between coated and uncoated chillies were noticed with respect to the hue angle and chromaticity that shows a stable color during the study. Changes in moisture content, chlorophyll content, capsaicin content, vitamin-C content and β-carotene content were lower in coated samples than that of uncoated chillies. Study showed that paraffin wax coating results better in terms of retention of parameters as compared to aloe vera gel.

Keywords: edible coatings, green chillies, chlorophyll content, capsaicin content, vitamin-C content and β-carotene, paraffin wax, aloe vera gel.