Abstract
Being highly perishable, 'Cavendish' banana fruits are affected by economically important postharvest diseases, like crown rot and anthracnose, which are caused by Colletotrichum musae. Fungicide treatment is considered as an effective management strategy however, its repeated applications pose risk to consumers' health, environment, and even fungal population. The use of plant essential oils (EOs), like thymol and limonene, are extensively studied as an alternative control method due to its antimicrobial properties. In this proof-ofconcept study, thymol and limonene were encapsulated in metal organic frameworks (MOFs) nanoporous materials (ZIF-8 and UiO-66) for sustained release that shall limit fungal diseases. An optimized protocol was developed to achieve a high encapsulation efficiency of EOs in MOFs (EO@MOFs). In vitro assays using several concentrations of EO@MOFs were conducted at 14°C and under controlled atmosphere (CA) storage to determine the inhibition capacity against C. musae. Encapsulated thymol reduced the growth of C. musae better than limonene. Higher concentration of EO@MOFs favorably slowed down the growth of C. musae for 11 days at 14°C and CA storage. The data suggest that volatile plant EOs when released from MOFs have the potential to slow down the growth of C. musae and may have some utility in banana postharvest disease control.