Abstract
This work aimed to extract pectin from purple passion fruit mesocarp (PPMP) and then blend it with agarose to obtain an eco-friendly material with desirable properties suitable for banana preservation. The PPMP exhibits a high methyl esterification degree (66.79%) and yield (29.83%) under optimal conditions consisting of a dry peel powder particle size of 0.25 mm, a mesocarp powder-to-citric acid solution ratio of 1 : 25 (g mL(-1)), extraction at 90 °C for 60 min, followed by precipitation with 96% ethanol. To overcome the hydrophilicity and limited mechanical strength of neat PPMP films, agarose (A) is blended at varying concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% (w/v). Among the tested formulations, PPMP-A1.5 exhibited the best overall performance, exhibiting increased tensile strength (from 1.15 MPa for neat PPMP to 1.71 MPa), enhanced oxygen-barrier performance (OP reduced from 32.93 × 10(-12) to 21.60 × 10(-12) mol m(-1) s(-1) Pa(-1)), and improved surface hydrophobicity (contact angle increased from 26.1° to 77.2°), despite certain trade-offs in flexibility and water vapor permeability. Preservation tests further confirm that the PPMP-A1.5 coating effectively prolonged the shelf life of bananas by up to 8 days at 25 °C, minimizing changes in peel browning, firmness, ripening rate, and pH. Notably, the weight loss of bananas coated with PPMP-A1.5 on day 6 is 11.69%, which is significantly lower than that of the uncoated samples (18.04%). These findings underscore the potential of PPMP/agarose coatings as safe, biodegradable, and sustainable packaging materials, serving as an alternative to conventional plastics and aligning with the principles of the circular economy.