Preservation Effect of Sodium Alginate/Ascorbic Acid/Lemongrass Essential Oil Composite Coating on Litchi

CHEN Xiaobing; LI Ying; ZHU Yuqian; REN Guanyao; ZHU Jinyi; ZENG Junyu; YUE Shuli; ZHANG Ling

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.17.018

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (17) : 163-171. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.17.018

Agro-products Preservation and Food Packaging

Preservation Effect of Sodium Alginate/Ascorbic Acid/Lemongrass Essential Oil Composite Coating on Litchi

CHEN Xiaobing¹, LI Ying², ZHU Yuqian², REN Guanyao², ZHU Jinyi², ZENG Junyu², YUE Shuli^1,*, ZHANG Ling^2,*

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Abstract

The work aims to construct a natural composite coating composed of sodium alginate, ascorbic acid, and lemongrass essential oil, so as to explore its structural characteristics and functional attributes, and systematically evaluate its effectiveness in preserving litchi during storage. A composite coating solution was developed, and its antibacterial and antioxidant capabilities were systematically evaluated. Litchi fruits treated with the coating were kept at 4 °C and 85±5% relative humidity for 25 days, during which key quality metrics, including weight loss rate, respiratory activity, texture retention, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity, were regularly tracked. Combined with the analysis on the molecular structure of the coating material, the interaction among the three components was discussed. When lemongrass essential oil was added at a concentration of 0.04 wt.%, the inhibition zone diameters against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were (14.3±0.4) mm and (12.1±0.3) mm, respectively, while the DPPH free radical scavenging rate reached 94.6%, indicating significant antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. During storage, the coating treatment significantly inhibited the increase of fruit respiration intensity and the loss of nutrients such as soluble solids, titratable acids and hardness. In conclusion, the addition of ascorbic acid and lemongrass essential oil enhances hydrogen bonding and ionic interactions within the coating system and introduced aldehyde and ketone functional groups, thereby promoting the formation of a dense and continuous coating structure, enhancing the antibacterial, antioxidant and structural stability of the composite coating, significantly prolonging the shelf life, and enhancing structural stability, thereby offering a theoretical foundation and practical strategy for eco-friendly preservation of tropical fruits and vegetables.

Key words

litchi / composite coating / preservative / sodium alginate / ascorbic acid / lemongrass essential oil

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CHEN Xiaobing, LI Ying, ZHU Yuqian, REN Guanyao, ZHU Jinyi, ZENG Junyu, YUE Shuli, ZHANG Ling. Preservation Effect of Sodium Alginate/Ascorbic Acid/Lemongrass Essential Oil Composite Coating on Litchi[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2025, 46(17): 163-171 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.17.018

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