Enzyme technology in food preservation: A promising and sustainable strategy for biocontrol of post-harvest fungal pathogens.
Population aging has reinforced the need for production of foods with high nutritional value, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. In general, due to their perishable nature, these foods are prone to spoilage by post-harvest microorganisms. For this reason, I aim to discuss in this article the alternative use of enzymes as biocontrol agents against fungal infections in post-harvest fruits and vegetables. This article therefore proposes a sustainable alternative with demonstrated success to improve the preservation of food in its fresh form and facilitating its storage, mainly in domestic space. Food spoilage caused by microorganisms has adverse economic effects. Pathogens such as Monilinia spp., Botrytis cinerea, and Penicillium expansum are important fungi that cause post-harvest spoilage of fruits.Thus, the application of enzymes in food chemistry offers a promising approach to improve the shelf life of foods without altering the organoleptical characteristics and nutritional content.
['da Silva|Ronivaldo Rodrigues|RR|']
D001203:Ascomycota D061046:Biological Control Agents D020171:Botrytis D002688:Chitinases D005506:Food Contamination D005516:Food Microbiology D005519:Food Preservation D005638:Fruit D009753:Nutritive Value D010407:Penicillium D010447:Peptide Hydrolases D012903:Smell D013649:Taste D014675:Vegetables
Food spoilage Chitinase Microbial enzyme Mold Proteolytic enzymes