The Preparation And Application Of Silkworm Cococn Preserver To Loquat And Banana Storage

Fresh fruit and vegetables after harvesting continue their complex physiological, biological and physical changes,such as nutrient and water loss,respiration and transpiration,which cause the shrinkage,weight loss,wilting,spoilage of the fruit and vegetables.All these would affect the quality and supply of the produce,therefore the preservation research of fruit and vegetable was a very important issue in their industrialization.Silkworm cocoon had porous mesh structure with good ventilation and water qualcomm.Its main component was sericin and fibroin.Sericin was soluble globular protein,and the content of protein was about 20～30%;Fibroin was non-soluble fiber protein,and the content of protein was about 70～80%.Their common feature was composed of two types of protein molecular chain,and both contained many polar groups. This makes Cocoon have the ability to adsorb gases such as ethylene and carbon dioxide from fruit and vegetable and then to slow down senescence of the produce.This paper was divided into three parts.The product of cocoon preserver and its characteristics was introduced in the first part.In the second part of this paper,the effect of cocoon preserver on loquat fruits during storage period was investigated.Finally,the relationship between cocoon preserver and ethylene by using banana fruits was examined and then the mechanism of silkworm cocoon preserver discussed.This paper introduces the method and basic features of silkworm cocoon preserver. Silkworm cocoon is natural biological product,and easy to obtain.The method for making silkworm cocoon preserver is very simple.The effect of silkworm cocoon preserver on loquat fruit is investigated.The results showed that the storage life of loquat fruits using silkworm cocoon preserver is about 7 day longer at 25±5℃temperature than control fruits.The storage life could be extended to 40 day at 3±1℃with less loss of soluble solids and acidity. The comparison of silkworm cocoon and pearl rock on absorbing ethylene in banana storage environment is made both at 25℃±5℃and 13℃±1℃.Results indicate that silkworm cocoon is very effective and much better to reduce ethylene concentration in the banana storage environment at two tested temperatures than perlite.