Aplikasi Gel Lidah Buaya (Aloe vera L.) sebagai Pelapis Buah Salak Pondoh (Salacca edulis Reinw.).

Abstract

Pondoh salacca is one type of fruit that damaged quickly during storage. Application of coating as gas barrier could do to prolong the shelf life. Aloe vera gel can used as oxygen barrier that reduce respiration rate of pondoh salacca. This research performed to study the effect of aloe vera gel coating in preventing damage to physical, chemical, and microbiological pondoh salacca during storage. Packaging material used are a plastic polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) that applied in normal (without vacuum) and vacuum condition. Fruits that have been sorted and cleaned, sprayed with a coating solution aloe vera gel : solvent ratio of 0:1, 1:4, and 1:2, then dried with the aid of a fan to dry. Once packed, pondoh salacca stored at cold temperature range 15-20 oC and RH 90-99 %, and observed on accordance with the conditions of the fruit. The parameters observed are of the weight loss, the percentage of damage, Vitamin C, total dissolved solids, and total acidity. The results of the analysis found that the ratio of coating is best able to withstand the decline in the quality of pondoh salacca is aloe vera gel : solvent ratio of 1:2. The type and condition of the best packs to maintain the quality of fruits is a kind of plastic PP and normal conditions (without vacuum). The combination of treatments both can also reduce damage fruits, it is evident that the treatment aloe vera gel : solvent ratio of 1:2 and the type of plastic PP with normal conditions can last up to 26 days of storage the level of damage by 37 % and amounted to 0.61 % weight losses. The content of Vitamin C fruits amounted to 1.84 mg/100 g of fruit, and the amount of total dissolved solids and total acid are 15.5 oBrix and 0.48 %.