Vol. 10, Issue 12 (2021)

Methodology: The present study was laid out in completely randomized design with dipping treatments of edible coatings such as T₁ = Untreated control, T₂ = Xanthan gum 0.50%, T₃ = Chitosan 1%, T₄ = Gaur gum 0.25%, T₅ = Ascorbic acid 0.50%, T₆ = Glycerol 1% and T₇ = Sodium benzoate 0.05% with three replications. The pre-treated samples of fresh cut red pumpkin of cv. Arka Chandan were packed in polyethylene bags of 200 gauge with 2% vents and stored at ambient temperature (AT) and refrigerator storage (RS) i.e. 5 ± 1 ⁰C and 90% RH. The observations on physico-chemical composition, sensorial qualities and total microbial count were recorded as per the standard analytical procedures.

Results: The data revealed that, the lowest PLW, acidity, total microbial count were recorded in T₂ (2.50%, 91.27%, 0.58%, 7.47 log cfu/g, followed by T₃ (2.87%, 0.65%, 5.72, 8.26 log cfu/g, respectively) while the maximum retention of TSS, firmness, ascorbic acid and total minerals and score for colour, flavour, taste, appearance, overall acceptability (6.07 Brix, 3.88 kg/cm², 8.58 mg/100g, 417.02 mg/100g, 8.00, 8.04, 8.25, 8.26, 8.16, respectively) followed by T₃ (5.91 ̊ Brix, 3.73 kg/cm², 8.47 mg/100g, 416.73 mg/100g, 7.83, 7.94, 8.14, 8.16, 8.03, respectively) of fresh cut red pumpkin on 12^th day of storage at refrigerator storage.

Interpretation: The dipping treatment of xanthan gum @0.50% (T₂) and chitosan @1% (T₃) were found effective for better retention of physico-chemical composition, sensorial qualities and reduced total microbial count of fresh cut red pumpkin up to twelve days at refrigerator storage.