Synergistic antibacterial activity of chitosan modified by double antibacterial agents as coating material for fruits preservation

Chitosan (CS) is a natural marine polysaccharide with good biocompatibility and biodegradability. But its poor water solubility and antibacterial activity limit its application in fruits preservation. In this study, based on the advantage of quaternary phosphonium salt (QP) and salicylic acid (SA) with good antibacterial activities and different antibacterial mechanisms, a novel antibacterial coating material was synthesized by grafting QP and SA onto CS. With the grafting of SA and QP onto CS, not only the crystallinity of CS molecules decreased and the water solubility improved, but also the antibacterial activity of CS-QP-SA against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (anthracnose) improved by the synergistic effect of QP and SA. After 20 days storage, the mango fruits treated by CS-QP-SA had a weight loss rate of 12.86 %, the fruit decay incidence was 52.00 ± 1.70 %. Hence, the CS-QP-SA films effectively extending the storage time of mango fruits to a certain extent. The results of this study indicated that CS-QP-SA might be a promising preservative for fruits and vegetables.