Sodium benzoate and chitosan composite coating synergistically reduces jujube fruit decay by inhibiting pathogenic fungi and increasing fungal diversity

作者：Yanlong Liu, Wenjing Zhu, Zhengkai Wang, Huabin Wang, Li Liu, Abdul‐Nabi Jatt, Caili Zhang · 发表于：Food Bioscience · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.fbio.2025.107233 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Postharvest Quality and Shelf Life Management、Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies、Ziziphus Jujuba Studies and Applications

Fresh jujubes are highly susceptible to postharvest decay caused by fungal infection. To address this issue, sodium benzoate and chitosan were used for the preservation of jujubes to evaluate their effects on the decay rate and fungal diversity of jujubes. The fungal community on the surface of jujubes was analyzed by fungal amplicon sequencing. The results indicated that chitosan could evenly distribute sodium benzoate on the surface of jujubes, thereby enhancing its antifungal effect. The combined sodium benzoate and chitosan coating significantly inhibited mold and yeast proliferation while reducing the decay rate. Furthermore, amplicon sequencing demonstrated that sodium benzoate and chitosan coating increased the fungal alpha diversity indices on the surface of jujubes. The dominant pathogenic genera of jujube were Alternaria and Cladosporium in this study. Notably, the sodium benzoate and chitosan coating effectively reduced their relative abundance. These findings were corroborated by LEfSe analysis and fungal functional annotation. Collectively, this study demonstrated a synergistic antifungal effect of sodium benzoate and chitosan, offering a promising strategy for fruit preservation.