The Effect of Isabgol (Plantago psylium) Mucilage and Zataria multiflora Essential Oils on Microbial Load and Improving Shelf Life of Fresh Cut Carrot

The research was carried out two experiments on fresh-cut carrot: The first experiment: the effect of different concentrations of Plantago psyllium mucilage (0,100, 200, 400 mg/l) and four concentrations of essential oil of Zataria multiflora (0,100, 250, 500 mg/l), separately and in combination in a factorial experiment on the basis of completely randomized design with 16 treatments and three replications were studied.The second experiment of essential oil and mucilage on the microbial load of fresh-cut carrot in the form of a split plot randomized complete block design with six treatments and three replications. After 10 days of treatment different parameters such as weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), titrable acidity (TA), pH, color and microbial load were evaluated. The results showed that the treatments had a significant effect on weight loss and increased carotenoid content. Combination treatment with 100 mg/l essential oil plus 100 mg/l mucilage significantly reduce skin whitening of carrot fresh cut. The microbial contamination of samples with different treatments did not differ significantly from each other

Keywords:

Fresh cut carrot , edible coatings , quality , color , microbial load