Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage coating enriched with Moringa oleifera waste extract enhanced postharvest preservation of banana (Musa spp) at ambient storage conditions

Banana is a perishable climacteric fruit that undergoes rapid ripening, resulting in significant postharvest losses. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage (OFIM) enriched with moringa extracts from different drying methods in preserving bananas during storage. A factorial experiment was conducted, where bananas were treated with OFIM, OFIM (3%, w/v) enriched with 3% of sun-dried moringa extract (OFIM + SD ME), oven-dried moringa extract (OFIM + OD ME), or freeze-dried moringa extract (OFIM + FD ME) moringa extract. Control fruit were immersed in distilled water, while the treated fruit was coated for 2–3 min and stored at 21 ± 2 °C. Quality attributes, including weight loss, decay incidence, respiration rate, greenness (a*), yellowness (b*), firmness, ion leakage, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), radical scavenging activity (RSA) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were measured every four days. Results revealed that OFIM + OD ME exhibited the lowest weight loss (9.85%), ion leakage (39.11%), TSS (5.91°Brix) and maintained TA (0.08%) whilst OFIM + FD ME reduced decay incidence (22.22%), respiration rate (6.70 mL CO₂/kg/h) and maintained firmness (26.47 N), TPC (398.67 µg CAE/ mL), TFC (49.25 µg CAE/ mL), RSA (59.23 mmol/L TE/mL), and FRAP (28.16 mmol/L TE/mL) of banana compared to all treatments. The control group was terminated at 8 d, OFIM and OFIM + SD at 12 d, whilst OFIM + FD ME and OFIM + OD ME extended storage up to 16 d. OFIM + FD ME demonstrated the highest efficacy in preserving banana quality. Thus, OFIM + FD ME is recommended for extending shelf life, maintaining postharvest quality, and reducing fruit spoilage and waste.