Ascorbic acid-enriched cactus mucilage coatings maintained quality attributes of roasted ‘Wichita’ pecan nuts under accelerated storage conditions

The potential of a cactus mucilage (CM)-based edible coating enriched with ascorbic acid (AA) for preserving microwave-roasted pecan nuts’ quality during accelerated storage was investigated. CM (3 %) was mixed with different concentrations of AA, which were 0.03, 0.015, and 0.09 %, to formulate edible coating solutions that were applied to microwave-roasted (700 W, 2.27 min) pecan nuts before accelerated storage for 25 days at 60 °C. Samples were taken at a 5-day interval to be analysed for colour properties (L = lightness, BI = browning index, and TCD = total colour difference), hardness, total yeast and mold, total flavonoids content (TFC), total phenolic content (TPC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), DPPH radical scavenging activity, peroxidase (POD), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme activities. Coating microwave-roasted pecan nuts with 3 % CM enriched with AA at low concentrations such as 0.015 % proved effective in preserving the colour, hardness, TPC, TFC, FRAP, and reducing the activities of POD and PPO enzymes. This study has demonstrated that CM enriched with AA edible coatings has the capacity to protect the quality and prolong the shelf-life of microwave-roasted pecan nuts.