Essential Oils in the Conservation of 'Palmer' Mango Fruits

Mangos are known worldwide, being highlighted in the world market due to is great export potential. Brazil is among the main producers and exporters in the world, showing the Northern region as the main producer of this fruit. Domestic market is each day also more demanding with regard to fruit quality. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of essential oils of the species Eugenia caryophyllus, Melaleuca alternifolia, Thymus vulgaris, and Zingiber officinale in the postharvest conservation of ‘Palmer’ mango fruits. The study was developed in the Postharvest Physiology Laboratory from the Montes Claros State University, MG, Brazil.The fruits were harvested in the pre-climateric stage and packed individually, being three fruits put in 21 cm x 14 cm x 18 mm expanded polystyrene trays, and stored in 3-L plastic bags, each one containing a plastic recipient with a 3 cm² filter paper, where aliquots of 100 µL of the essential oils were put. The control consisted of the addition of 100 µL of distilled water on the paper. Evaluations were made each three days of the physical and chemical characteristics of the fruits, as pH, titrable acidity, and total soluble solids. The experiment was installed in a completely randomized design in a 4 x 5 factorial, being four treatments (essential oils of Eugenia caryophyllus, Melaleuca alternifolia, Thymus vulgaris, and Zingiber officinale) and five evaluation intervals (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 days), with four replicates and three fruits per experimental unit. Results were subjected to analysis of variance using the software SISVAR and the means compared by the Scott-Knott test at a 5% significance level. The essential oils did not interfere in the total soluble solids, but storage period, with a significant increase from the sixth day, due to the breaking of starch into sugars, by the enzymatic hydrolysis mechanism. For the variables pH and acidity, there was a significant effect of the treatments compared to the control. Using the essential oil extracts, it is possible to preserve the ‘Palmer’ mango fruits for a six-day storage period, keeping their quality and increasing, therefore, the shelf-life (Financial support: FAPEMIG and CAPES).