Study of some physical and chemical characteristics of Canarium schweinfurthii Engl. fruits during their conservation in different acidic solutions. [French]

摘要

The aim of the present study is to contribute to the valorisation of Canarium Schweinfurthii Engl. fruits (aiele) and to the reduction of their postharvest losses. The fruits from two locations (Batoufam and Mbouda) in Cameroon were preserved in different solutions (distilled water; 0.2% citric acid; 0.5% lactic acid; mixture of 0.5% lactic acid and 0.2% citric acid). The preservation method consisted in softening the fruits directly into the cover solution. The transfer of substances was followed during 30 days of soaking. After 30 days, the sensory evaluation of the softened fruits and the microbiological evaluation of the cover solutions were carried out. Whatever the cover solution and the origin of the fruits, the loss after 30 days was comprised between 5.94 and 6.32% for dry weight and between 6.72 and 10.67% for total lipids. The pH of the solutions stabilised at values between 4.75 and 5.0 for water or lactic acid, below 4.5 for citric acid or the mixture lactic + citric acids. The sensory analysis showed no significant differences at the 5% level in colour, taste and acceptability between the fruits preserved in the mixture of 0.5% lactic acid + 0.2% citric acid and the softened unpreserved fruits. The microbial quality of the fruits after 30 days of preservation was acceptable. Whatever the cover solution, the number of colonies per mL of cover solution was below five and the search for Clostridium was negative.