Effect of pulsed light, edible coating, and dipping on the phenolic profile and antioxidant potential of fresh-cut mango

This work aimed at evaluating the individual or combined effect of pulsed light (PL) treatment, alginate (AL) coating, and malic acid (MA) dip on antioxidant capacity, phenolic compounds content, and color of untreated or treated fresh-cut mango throughout 14 days. PL–AL–MA and AL–MA–PL treatments prevented browning of fresh-cut mango over the storage. Those treatment combinations resulted into the greatest radical scavenging activity (RSA), which was 42.2% RSA_ABTS in fresh-cut mango at day 14. Total phenolic compounds in fresh-cut mango subjected to AL, AL–MA–PL, and PL–AL–MA treatments showed maximal concentration of 1,664.46, 1,367.58, and 1,745.71 mg GAE/kg, respectively, at day 3, when the concentration began to decline until day 7. Although five individual phenolics (gallic acid, dihydroxybenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, mangiferin, and quercetin) were initially identified, only gallic acid, mangiferin, and quercetin were maintained in treated fresh-cut mango during entire storage. MA and AL–MA–PL treatments might enhance mangiferin content by inducing a stress response in fresh-cut mango for 14 days. Practical applications: The present article leads with novel food processing systems able to preserve bioactive compounds of fresh-cut fruit throughout storage. It is worth to mention that this research would enable the commercialization of high nutritive fruits such as mango in nonproducing countries.