Aloe Vera Gel Helps Preserve Fruit?

An interesting application has been developed by Spanish researchers, who are using Aloe Vera as an edible coating and preservative for fruits and vegetables. In the study, researchers dipped a group of common table grapes into Aloe Vera gel and stored them for five weeks at low temperature, while exposing a group of untreated table grapes to the same conditions.

The untreated grapes appeared to deteriorate rapidly within about seven days, whereas the gel-coated grapes were well-preserved for up to 35 days under the same experimental conditions. Specifically, the gel-treated grapes were firmer, had less weight loss and less color change than the untreated grapes. The quality of both the untreated and the gel-treated grapes was evaluated by a sensory panel, which found the gel-treated grapes were generally superior in taste.