Title : Effects on the chemical properties of cape gooseberry impregnated with biofilms made from arracacha root residues and propolis.
Abstract:
Agricultural waste is a source of pollution in the ecosystem and can generate overproduction of methane and leachates that affect the soil and drinking water sources. The UN, in its sustainable development objectives, promotes the reuse of these wastes through derived processes, which can generate added value to agricultural activity. In this research, the upper part of the arracacha root (which is usually discarded) was used to extract its starch and use it to make biofilms together with ethanolic extract of propolis obtained from the honeybee hive.
The biofilms obtained were characterized by thermogravimetry (TGA), infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), physicochemical and mechanical properties and air permeability. water steam. Based on the best biofilm formulation (homogeneity, stability, and water permeability), the cape gooseberry fruits at ripening stage 3 with and without calyx were impregnated. Subsequently, the chemical changes in the wax that covers the fruit, the calyx, the ethanolic extract of the fiber, the periderm of the fruit, and the liquid fraction obtained from the pulp were evaluated using FTIR, UV-vis, CG-MS, pH, total fiber, sugar content, primary and secondary metabolites, and respiration rate.
The results obtained show that the cape gooseberry (in the post-harvest treatment) without the impregnation of the biofilm behaves like a non-climacteric fruit with degradation processes in the calyx due to dehydration, deterioration of chromophore compounds, loss of total fiber and antioxidant compounds. The analyses with the fruit impregnated with the biofilm showed an increase in chemical stability that extends the viability time of consumption from 20 to 35 days.
Audience Take-Away:
- In the presentation I will address a circular economy model carried out in collaboration with farmers to collect organic waste from the production of arracacha to give it added value and which, combined with propolis, creates a biofilm to cover the fruits and achieve a longer useful life of the fruit, after being harvested. The above generates a productive cycle, since Apis mellifera bees are pollinators of the arracacha and the cape gooseberry, that is, the three agricultural products generate benefits that feed off each other. This work is of environmental interest and in new materials research, incorporating raw materials that generate added value and avoid the waste of foods such as fruits and facilitate the reuse of waste.
