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How to maintain the nutrients in fruits in longer period and also makes the fruits last longer ?

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Using fungi such as Rhizopus oryzae . As we know fungi contain chitin in their cell wall , we can extract the chitin and convert it into chitosan to be use as edible coating for fruits . R. oryzae is a heterothallic fungi with a bipolar mating type (Cutter, 1942; Idnurm & Vilgalys, 2007). R. oryzae typical characteristics as described by Went & Prinsen Geerling (1895) includes mycelium with asepate hyphae, rhizoids, stolon and reproducing both by asexual and sexual spores (Fig:2). Asexual reproduction is by sporangia with a characteristic columella. Sexual reproduction is quite rare and occurs through production of zygospores. Culture characteristics of R. oryzae grown on a Sabradoux dextrose agar has grayish color colonies growing best at 27ºC (Fig: 1) but can withstand temperatures till 40ºC. Rhizoids are medium size with sporangiophores with 1500µm long with dichotomous branching and sporangia with 160-240µm and Zygospores are brown in color. Sporangiospores are angular with sub-globose to ellipsoidal in shape with local swelling. Rh .oryzae can grow best between pH 4 to 9. R. oryzae is differentiated from other Rhizopus species by its inability to grow at 45ºC, absence of chlamydospores and large sporangiospores.

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Rhizopus oryzae
a type of fungi that contain the highest chitosan compared to the other fungi such as Aspergillus niger,  Lentinus edodes and yeast . It is also heterothallic fungi with a bipolar mating . It can reproduce sexually and asexually . And it is easy to be found .  the cell wall contain the highest chitin . From that we extract the chitin and convert it into chitosan through some method . Chitosan, a linear hydrophilic polysaccharide of β-1, 4-glucosamine, is obtained by thermo-chemical deacetylation of chitin, which is found in the exoskeleton of crab, shrimp, lobster, crawfish and insects. Chitosan can also be isolated from the cell wall of certain groups of fungi particularly zygomycetes. Chitosan finds numerous applications in food and pharmaceutical industries and also in environmental biotechnology, particularly for the removal of toxic metal ions and dyes from wastewater. Chitosan isolated from fungi is of uniform physico-chemical properties than obtained by deacetylation of crustacean chitin . Recent research is therefore focused on the production of chitosan by fermentation of fungus especially belonging to zygomycetes group. Another advantage of fungal chitosan is that the production as well as physico-chemical properties, e.g., molecular weight of this chitosan can be manipulated by changing the parameters of the fermentation. For example, Göksungur showed that production of chitosan by fermentation of Rhizopus oryzae in molasses medium can be increased from 961 to 1109.32 mg/L by optimizing aeration rate, agitation speed and initial sugar concentration. Yoshihara et al. have shown that the production of chitinous substances, especially chitosan by R. oryzae can be enhanced by adding d-psicose at a concentration of 5–12 g/L to a synthetic medium containing low amount of glucose. Of the culture parameters studied, Arcidiacono and Kaplan showed that length of incubation and medium composition affected biomass production and molecular weight of chitosan in case of Mucor rouxii.

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Banana is a quite popular tropical fruit, especially in commercial local trade. It contains a lot of nutrients and minerals which are very beneficial for health. Its vitamin C content which is regarded as a familiar antioxidant is relatively high of up to 15%. Bananas are usually harvested before fully mature for domestic consumption. Usually bananas are stored at room temperature. During storage, banana fruit is easily deteriorated due to the quick ripening process . Bananas can only last for 5 days .

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Process of Conversion of Chitin into Chitosan

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Process of Conversion of Chitin into Chitosan

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Chitin is mixed with 40% solution of caustic soda and heated by indirect steam at 95-100 C in a steam jacketed kettle. Heating is continued for 90-120 minutes. During heating, samples are drawn at intervals from the reaction mixture, washed free of alkali and tested for its solubility in 1% solution of acetic acid. Completion of deacetylation is indicated by complete solubility of the sample in acetic acid. At the end of the reaction caustic soda is drained off and the residue is washed with water until sample is free from alkali. The residue is then dried in sun or hot air drier. Chitosan is pulverized to desired mesh size and then packed.

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Softening was considered a main problem in fresh fruits and vegetables during marketing from farm to consumer, that occur as a natural process of ripening and water loss which lead to making them loss of economic value, shortening of shelf life and undesirable to be consumed by consumers, therefore, it is important to find some new technique to save these fruits and vegetables.

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1) Total weight loss
chitosan coating minimized weight loss of stored fruits and its combination with heat treatment showed the lowest respiration rate. Chitosan formed a coating film on the outside surface of the bananas that effectively retarded the loss of water.
2) Colour
chitosan coating delayed the colour development of banana to a greater extent. Fruit treated with higher concentrations of chitosan could be attributed to the slow rate of respiration and reduced ethylene production, leading to a delayed fruit ripening and senescence.
3) Acidity
The chitosan coating brought about less increase in acidity in the treated bananas because chitosan does not completely inhibit metabolic changes in the fruits though the rate of change was slow.
4) Disease severity
Fungal spoilage were minimum in the treated bananas. Chitosan reduced
significantly the incidence of brown rot and the protective effect of the film might have helped
maintain the quality of bananas.
5) Disease incidence
The disease level was maintained lower in those fruits that are coated with chitosan. Chitosan coating successfully reduced disease incidence of banana fruits during storage. Treatments with chitosan and oligochitosan reduced the disease incidence caused by Alternaria kikuchiana and Physalospora pyricola.
6) Shelf life
Chitosan coating is more suitable for extending the shelf life of banana fruits. Shelf life of banana fruits was significantly affected by the different postharvest treatments of chitosan concentration.

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Chitin, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, is a common constituent of fungal cell walls (Bartnicki-Garcia, 1968). Chitosan, the deaeetylated derivative of chitin, is less predominant, but is found in the cell walls of some fungi (Datema et al., 1977). A fungal enzyme capable of deacetylating chitin has been described (Araki and Ito, 1975). Thus, the progression from chitin to ehitosan may occur in living or deteriorating fungi in the soil.

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contain powdery form chitosan

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https://youtu.be/XTaz0svmDF4

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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsfa.3715/abstract

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141813016304123