CHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF PROPOLIS AND ITS UTILISATION IN EDIBLE COATING ONTO CUCUMIS SATIVUS VAR. MALINI (CUCUMBER)
Shriya Verma, Anuradha Saha and Rajinder K. Gupta*
ABSTRACT
Propolis is a popular bee product because of its antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Its chemical composition depends on the species of bee that collects it, the environment in which the bee thrives and plants on which it forages. Until now, not much research has been done to discover the chemical composition of Indian propolis and its application as edible coatings, hence, two propolis samples were procured from Punjab and Delhi respectively for the study. 1H NMR and GC-MS analysis revealed the chemical heterogeneity of both the samples and the results of ICP-MS analysis points towards the high amount of heavy metal content in both the samples. Ethanolic Extract of Propolis (EEP) was used along with chitosan and acacia gum to formulate edible coating solutions which were coated on cucumbers. Trehalose was incorporated as an active ingredient as it contributes to the freshness of cucumbers for a longer period of time. Cucumbers were assessed for quality parameters like weight loss percentage, decay percentage, juicability, Total Soluble Solid (TSS) content, pH and Titratable Acidity (TA). Edible coating increased the shelf life of cucumbers by 7 days.
Keywords: Propolis, Trehalose, Edible Coating, Environmental Pollution, Environment-Friendly.
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