BIOPOLYMERS USED AS EDIBLE COATING TO LIMIT WATER TRANSFER, COLOUR DEGRADATION AND AROMA COMPOUND 2-PENTANONE LOST IN MEXICAN FRUITS

Low preservation of typical fruits in countries with warm weather represents a limitation to export. A recently proposed method to increase shelf-life of fresh guava, is the application of biopolymers as edible coatings. This research involves the use of biopolymers of microbial origin obtained with low cost nutrients, to prepare edible coatings applied on mexican guava and apricot. Dextrans obtained by fermentation with Leuconostoc mesenteroides isolated from a typical mexican beverage named pulque (cactus juice fermented). Dextrans were purified by precipitation with methanol and dispersed in purified water. This procedure was repeated 3 times to eliminate carbohydrates others than dextra…