Hemicellulose-based nanocomposites coating delays lignification of green asparagus by introducing AKD as a hydrophobic modifier

Fresh green asparagus is prone to lignify after harvest due to its high respiration rate and secretion of secondary metabolites regulated by enzymes generated during storage. In this work, a dense hemicellulose-based coating containing hemicellulose, cellulose nanofibers, and montmorillonite (MMT) was prepared and used as a coating to reduce the respiration rate of green asparagus, with which the shelf life of green asparagus was prolonged from 5 days to 7 days. Alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) was used as a hydrophobizer and a crosslinking agent to reduce humidity sensitivity by introducing hydrophobic fatty acid chains to nanoparticles for increased structural stability and respiratory barrier property hemicellulose-based film in high humidity conditions. Our study proved that AKD modified coating with nature-derived nanomaterials could effectively increase respiratory barrier property, slow down the secretion of lignification-involved enzymes, and regulating the conversion of phenolic compounds to the lignin monomers.