Aloe vera-Honey Edible Coating Prolongs Shelf Life and Preserves Quality of Refrigerated Fresh-Cut Mango (Mangifera indica).

Postharvest deterioration of fresh-cut mangoes limits shelf life, marketability, and nutritional quality, creating a need for safe, sustainable preservation strategies. This study investigated the effectiveness of edible coatings formulated from Aloe vera gel and mixed flower honey in preserving the quality and extending the refrigerated shelf life of fresh-cut local mangoes (Mangifera indica) from Bangladesh. Fresh-cut mango cubes were coated with six formulations comprising an uncoated control, 100% Aloe vera gel, 100% mixed flower honey, and different binary combinations of Aloe vera gel and honey, and stored at below 4°C for 20 days. We evaluated physicochemical attributes, antioxidant compounds, color, firmness, microbial quality, and spoilage at 5-day intervals. Compared with the uncoated control, the coatings significantly reduced moisture loss, microbial proliferation, and fruit spoilage while preserving firmness, color, vitamin C, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, total phenolic content, and total flavonoid content. However, contrary to the hypothesis that honey would synergistically enhance Aloe vera's preservative effects, 100% Aloe vera gel consistently outperformed all honey-containing formulations. Among all treatments, the 100% Aloe vera coating exhibited the highest preservation efficiency, reducing weight loss by approximately 48% and spoilage by 50% after 20 days of storage while maintaining the lowest microbial counts and the greatest retention of antioxidant compounds and physicochemical quality. Principal component and correlation analyses further confirmed that reduced moisture loss was strongly associated with improved firmness and antioxidant retention. These findings demonstrate that Aloe vera-based edible coatings, particularly 100% Aloe vera gel, provide an effective, environmentally friendly, and biodegradable approach for extending the shelf life and maintaining the quality of fresh-cut mangoes. This technology offers promising potential for commercial postharvest preservation of fresh-cut mangoes and other climacteric fruits while reducing postharvest losses and reliance on synthetic preservatives.