Effect of tea seed oil on post-harvest quality of Moro blood orange

Purpose: The use of natural and organic products increases to produce a healthy product free of pollutants. Tea seeds contain 15-20% oil, which used as edible oil and an organic pesticide. In previous years, these seeds were used to produce tea seedlings. But now, cuttings are used for tea propagation and seeds are a byproduct of tea production. Therefore, this study aims to compare the effect of TSO with commercial wax on post-harvest quality of Citrus sinensis cv. Moro. Research method: An experiment was done as Completely Randomized Design; fruits were coated with control (distilled water), commercial wax (XEDASOL- MX20), and tea seed oil. The fruits were stored for 60 days in cold storage. The weight of the fruit skin, the contents of juice, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and anthocyanins of the fruit were measured. Findings: The results showed that fruits coated with commercial wax and tea seed oil have the lowest fruit weight loss, the highest percentage of TSS (10.42%), the most top content of anthocyanins (15.17 mg/l) and flavonoids (196.17 mg/l) that there was a significant difference with control. The lowest titratable acidity (2.28%) was observed in fruits impregnated with tea seed oil, and there was a considerable difference with control. In general, the effect of tea seed oil was similar to commercial wax. Limitations: No limitations were founded. Originality/Value: These results indicate that the application of tea seed oil proved to be effective in extending the quality and storage time of Citrus sinensis (cv. Moro).

Keywords:

By-product , citrus , Oil , quality , Tea