Blackberries (Rubus fructicosus L.) are known as functional foods due to their rich concentration of bioactive compounds. Due to their limited shelf life and susceptibility to postharvest quality deterioration, it is imperative to investigate postharvest interventions that can prolong the fruit's quality. The aim of this research was to develop a sonicated and microwave-assisted pasteurized edible coating containing citrus peel essential oil (CPEO), and investigate its impact on the quality of blackberries stored at low and elevated temperatures through physico-chemical and antioxidant analysis. The coating effect on maintaining the quality of blackberries during storage was more prominent when it was applied on blanched blackberries. About 33.78% weight loss was observed in control blackberries (BB) after 21 days at 4ºC; blanched and coated blackberries indicated 18% reduction in fruit weight loss; and 65.11% reduction occurred in fruit decay. About 69.43% weight loss was recorded after 3 days in control blackberries stored at 30ºC. The pH of control blackberries increased by 9.36% whereas blanched and coated fruits indicated a 5.52% increase after 21 days. Blanched and coated blackberries indicated a 10.71% lower decrease in titerable acidity at 20ºC, whereas a 36.36% decline in acidity was observed in control blackberries stored at 30ºC. About 22.86% loss in TSS was observed in control blackberries after 21 days. The TSS/acidity ratio gradually increased during storage, reaching its maximum value (13.60) after 21 days in blanched and coated fruits. The sonicated edible coating reduced 23.65% loss in the total flavonoid and 24.50% loss in total flavanols compared to the uncoated fruits kept at 4ºC after 21 days. Blanched and coated samples displayed a 22.12% reduction in the loss of the total flavonoid at 20ºC and 17.30% at 30ºC and 18.05% reduced loss was obtained for the total flavanols at 20ºC and 15% at 30ºC. Blanched blackberries coated with a sonicated edible coating indicated a 16.91% reduction in the loss of total phenolic content and 27% TAA after 21 days. Blanched and coated blackberries indicated a 12.20% reduction in the loss of DPPH radical scavenging activity after 21 days at 4ºC. The sonicated edible coating comparatively maintained 19.59% DPPH radical scavenging activity compared to the control. The promising results concluded that sonicated edible coating is an innovative solution for effective postharvest quality during storage. However, additional work needs to be conducted to analyse the potential of sonicated edible coatings with different essential oils on different horticultural commodities at various storage temperatures.

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