ABSTRACT
Microbiological spoilage is a primary reason for the perishable nature of horticultural produce. Even though conventional pesticides are highly effective in decay control, their postharvest use has been discouraged due to their ill effects on health and the environment. This has encouraged the scientists and industry to look for broad spectrum and safe alternatives.
This chapter details the updated information on the natural and synthetic alternatives for shelf life enhancement of fruits. Plant-derived antimicrobial principles, like isothiocyanates, terpenoids, alkaloids, phenolics, aldehydes, and the essential oils, organic compounds of microbial origin, namely, aldehydes, ethanol, acetic acid, bacteriocins, and antibiotics as well as animal-derived compounds, namely, chitosan, lactoferrin, lysozyme, etc. Find their important role in postharvest spoilage management. Among the above-mentioned compounds, chitosan or its derivatives, as well as essential oils, are looked upon with great hope for future use. For a wider practical use, a multidisciplinary research is required to integrate them in packaging materials, encapsulation methods for their slow and sustained release, finding out the best combination for their synergistic action, chemical modifications to obtain their more potent derivatives, etc. in a variety of fruits.
