Fungal Growth Physicochemical Properties Inhibition by Novel Zinc Oxide/ Glutinous Tapioca Starch Composite

N. F. Rosman; M. Z. Nurfazianawatie; H. Omar; N. S. A. Malek; Nadya Hajar; I. Buniyamin; S. Abdullah; M. Rusop; N. A. Asli

doi:10.37934/araset.29.1.7689

Authors

N. F. Rosman Centre for Functional Materials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Malaysia
M. Z. Nurfazianawatie Centre for Functional Materials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Malaysia
H. Omar School of Physics and Materials, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
N. S. A. Malek School of Physics and Materials, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Nadya Hajar Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Pilah Campus, Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
I. Buniyamin Centre for Functional Materials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Malaysia
S. Abdullah School of Physics and Materials, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
M. Rusop NANO-Electronic Centre, School of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA,40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
N. A. Asli Centre for Functional Materials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37934/araset.29.1.7689

Keywords:

nanocoating, zinc oxide nanoparticles, food, agriculture, mango, glutinous rice starch

Abstract

Mango suffers from numerous diseases throughout its life due to fungal growth. Primarily, mango is infected with anthracnose, a disease caused by Collectotrichum gloeosporioides. In the present study, mango fruits were coated with zinc oxide (ZnO) and tapioca starch solution at different concentrations and stored at room temperature for a week. The growth of any black spots on the outer surface of the fruit peel was observed at two-day intervals. The mixed coating material, consisting of ZnO and tapioca starch, inhibited fungal growth. The field-emission scanning microscope (FESEM) results demonstrated that the nanoparticles were uniformly coated on the mango samples. Applying the ZnO coating also effectively maintained the quality attributes and extended the shelf life of the fruits. Consequently, the ZnO and starch coating could be an alternative safe coating technique of protecting mango fruits against anthracnose infection, hence prolonging the freshness and avoiding economic losses during transportation, marketing, and storage.