The antioxidant activity of pomegranate juices was evaluated by four different methods (ABTS, DPPH, DMPD, and FRAP) and compared to those of red wine and a green tea infusion. Commercial pomegranate juices showed an antioxidant activity (18-20 TEAC) three times higher than those of red wine and green tea (6-8 TEAC). The activity was higher in commercial juices extracted from whole pomegranates than in experimental juices obtained from the arils only (12-14 TEAC). HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS analyses of the juices revealed that commercial juices contained the pomegranate tannin punicalagin (1500-1900 mg/L) while only traces of this compound were detected in the experimental juice obtained from arils in the laboratory. This shows that pomegranate industrial processing extracts some of the hydrolyzable tannins present in the fruit rind. This could account for the higher antioxidant activity of commercial juices compared to the experimental ones. In addition, anthocyanins, ellagic acid derivatives, and hydrolyzable tannins were detected and quantified in the pomegranate juices.

Vitamin C, including ascorbic acid and dehydroascorbic acid, is one of the most important nutritional quality factors in many horticultural crops and has many biological activities in the human body. The content of vitamin C in fruits and vegetables can be influenced by various factors such as genotypic differences, preharvest climatic conditions and cultural practices, maturity and harvesting methods, and postharvest handling procedures. The higher the intensity of light during the growing season, the greater is vitamin C content in plant tissues. Nitrogen fertilizers at high rates tend to decrease the vitamin C content in many fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C content of many crops can be increased with less frequent irrigation. Temperature management after harvest is the most important factor to maintain vitamin C of fruits and vegetables; losses are accelerated at higher temperatures and with longer storage durations. However, some chilling sensitive crops show more losses in vitamin C at lower temperatures. Conditions favorable to water loss after harvest result in a rapid loss of vitamin C especially in leafy vegetables. The retention of vitamin C is lowered by bruising, and other mechanical injuries, and by excessive trimming. Irradiation at low doses (1 kGy or lower) has no significant effects on vitamin C content of fruits and vegetables. The loss of vitamin C after harvest can be reduced by storing fruits and vegetables in reduced O 2 and/or up to 10% CO 2 atmospheres; higher CO 2 levels can accelerate vitamin C loss. Vitamin C of produce is also subject to degradation during processing and cooking. Electromagnetic energy seems to have advantages over conventional heating by reduction of process times, energy, and water usage. Blanching reduces the vitamin C content during processing, but limits further decreases during the frozen-storage of horticultural products.

Genotypic variation in composition and antioxidant activity was evaluated using 25 cultivars, 5 each of white-flesh nectarines, yellow-flesh nectarines, white-flesh peaches, yellow-flesh peaches, and plums, at the ripe (ready-to-eat) stage. The ranges of total ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (in mg/100 g of fresh weight) were 5-14 (white-flesh nectarines), 6-8 (yellow-flesh nectarines), 6-9 (white-flesh peaches), 4-13 (yellow-flesh peaches), and 3-10 (plums). Total carotenoids concentrations (in microg/100 g of fresh weight) were 7-14 (white-flesh nectarines), 80-186 (yellow-flesh nectarines), 7-20 (white-flesh peaches), 71-210 (yellow-flesh peaches), and 70-260 (plums). Total phenolics (in mg/100 g of fresh weight) were 14-102 (white-flesh nectarines), 18-54 (yellow-flesh nectarines), 28-111 (white-flesh peaches), 21-61 (yellow-flesh peaches), and 42-109 (plums). The contributions of phenolic compounds to antioxidant activity were much greater than those of vitamin C and carotenoids. There was a strong correlation (0.93-0.96) between total phenolics and antioxidant activity of nectarines, peaches, and plums.

Modified atmospheres (MA), i.e., elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide and reduced levels of oxygen and ethylene, can be useful supplements to provide optimum temperature and relative humidity in maintaining the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables after harvest. MA benefits include reduced respiration, ethylene production, and sensitivity to ethylene; retarded softening and compositional changes; alleviation of certain physiological disorders; and reduced decay. Subjecting fresh produce to too low an oxygen concentration and/or to too high a carbon dioxide level can result in MA stress, which is manifested by accelerated deterioration. Packaging fresh produce in polymeric films can result in a commodity-generated MA. Atmosphere modification within such packages depends on film permeability, commodity respiration rate and gas diffusion characteristics, and initial free volume and atmospheric composition within the package. Temperature, relative humidity, and air movement around the package can influence the permeability of the film. Temperature also affects the metabolic activity of the commodity and consequently the rate of attaining the desired MA. All these factors must be considered in developing a mathematical model for selecting the most suitable film for each commodity.

The phenolic compounds of 25 peach, nectarine, and plum cultivars were studied and quantified by HPLC-DAD-ESIMS. Hydroxycinnamates, procyanidins, flavonols, and anthocyanins were detected and quantified. White and yellow flesh nectarines and peaches, and yellow and red plums, were analyzed at two different maturity stages with consideration of both peel and flesh tissues. HPLC-MS analyses allowed the identification of procyanidin dimers of the B- and A-types, as well as the presence of procyanidin trimers in plums. As a general rule, the peel tissues contained higher amounts of phenolics, and anthocyanins and flavonols were almost exclusively located in this tissue. No clear differences in the phenolic content of nectarines and peaches were detected or between white flesh and yellow flesh cultivars. There was no clear trend in phenolic content with ripening of the different cultivars. Some cultivars, however, had a very high phenolic content. For example, the white flesh nectarine cultivar Brite Pearl (350-460 mg/kg hydroxycinnamates and 430-550 mg/kg procyanidins in flesh) and the yellow flesh cv. Red Jim (180-190 mg/kg hydroxycinnamates and 210-330 mg/kg procyanidins in flesh), contained 10 times more phenolics than cultivars such as Fire Pearl (38-50 mg/kg hydroxycinnamates and 23-30 mg/kg procyanidins in flesh). Among white flesh peaches, cultivars Snow King (300-320 mg/kg hydroxycinnamates and 660-695 mg/kg procyanidins in flesh) and Snow Giant (125-130 mg/kg hydroxycinnamates and 520-540 mg/kg procyanidins in flesh) showed the highest content. The plum cultivars Black Beaut and Angeleno were especially rich in phenolics.

Fruits and vegetables are important sources of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and antioxidants. The relative contribution of each commodity to human health and wellness depends upon its nutritive value and per capita consumption; the latter is greatly influenced by consumer preferences and degree of satisfaction from eating the fruit or vegetable. Flavor quality of fruits and vegetables is influenced by genetic, preharvest, harvesting, and postharvest factors. The longer the time between harvest and eating, the greater the losses of characteristic flavor (taste and aroma) and the development of off-flavors in most fruits and vegetables. Postharvest life based on flavor and nutritional quality is shorter than that based on appearance and textural quality. Thus, it is essential that good flavor quality be emphasized in the future by selecting the best-tasting genotypes to produce, by using an integrated crop management system and harvesting at the maturity or ripeness stage that will optimize eating quality at the time of consumption, and by using the postharvest handling procedures that will maintain optimal flavor and nutritional quality of fruits and vegetables between harvest and consumption.  2008 Society of Chemical Industry Keywords: appearance life; aroma; consumer preferences; flavor life; odor; taste; texture INTRODUCTIONProviding better-flavored fruits and vegetables at affordable prices is likely to increase their consumption, which would be good for producers and handlers (making more money or at least staying in business) as well as for consumers (increased consumption of healthy foods). Devoting more attention to flavor and nutritional quality of fruits and vegetables is strongly recommended. This should include identification of the reasons for postharvest life based on flavor being shorter than postharvest life based on appearance, selection of cultivars with flavor life that is close to appearance life, and modification of current postharvest handling recommendations on the basis of maximizing flavor life potential.

Qualitative losses (such as loss of caloric and nutritive value, loss of acceptability by consumers, and loss of edibility) are more difficult to measure than quantitative losses of fresh fruits and vegetables. While reduction of quantitative losses is a higher priority than qualitative losses in developing countries, the opposite is true in developed countries where consumer dissatisfaction with produce quality results in a greater percentage of the total postharvet losses. Providing consumers with fruits and vegetables that taste good can greatly increase their consumption of the recommended minimum of five servings per day for better health. Development of new cultivars with better flavor and nutritional quality plus adequate productivity should be given high priority in all countries. Strategies for reducing postharvest losses in developing countries include: (1) Application of current knowledge to improve the handling systems (especially packaging and cold chain maintenance) of horticultural perishables and assure their quality and safety; (2) Overcoming the socioeconomic constraints, such as inadequacies of infrastructure, poor marketing systems, and weak R&D capacity; and (3) Encouraging consolidation and vertical integration among producers and marketers of horticultural crops. ESTIMATION OF POSTHARVEST LOSSESBoth quantitative and qualitative losses occur in horticultural crops between harvest and consumption. Our goal is to minimize these losses, and to do so we must: 1) understand the biological and environmental factors involved in postharvest deterioration, and 2) use the appropriate postharvest technology procedures that will slow down deterioration and maintain quality and safety of the commodities. Qualitative losses, such as loss in edibility, nutritional quality, caloric value, and consumer acceptability of the products, are much more difficult to assess than quantitative losses. Standards of quality and consumer preferences and purchasing power vary greatly among countries and cultures. For example, elimination of defects from a given commodity before marketing is much less rigorous in developing countries than in developed countries. This, however, is not necessarily bad, because appearance quality is often over-emphasized in developed countries.Postharvest losses vary greatly among commodities and production areas and seasons. In the United States, the losses of fresh fruits and vegetables are estimated to range from 2% to 23%, depending on the commodity, with an overall average of about 12% losses between production and consumption sites (Cappellini and Ceponis, 1984; Harvey, 1978). Kantor et al (1997) estimated the U.S. total retail, foodservice, and consumer food losses in 1995 to be 23% of fruits and 25% of vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables accounted for nearly 20% of consumer and foodservice losses, which are due to product deterioration, excess perishable products that are discarded, and plate waste (food not consumed by the purchaser). The latter is often due to consumer...

Carbon dioxide-enriched atmospheres are used to reduce the incidence and severity of decay and to extend the postharvest life of strawberries. The influence of CO2 on the postharvest quality parameters of strawberries, particularly the stability of anthocyanins and other phenolic compounds, was investigated. Freshly harvested strawberries were placed in jars ventilated continuously with air or air enriched with 10%, 20%, or 40% CO2 at 5 °C for 10 days. Samples were taken initially, and after 5 and 10 days of storage, and color (L* a* b* color space), pH, TA, TSS, and firmness were measured. Anthocyanins and other phenolics were analyzed by HPLC. Elevated CO2 degraded internal color while air-treated fruit remained red. Internal and external tissues differed in composition and concentration of phenolic compounds. CO2 had a minimal effect on the anthocyanin content of external tissues but induced a remarkable decrease in anthocyanin content of internal tissues. Factors, such as pH and copigmentation, that could explain this degradation are discussed. Keywords: Fragaria × ananassa; controlled atmosphere; quality parameters; anthocyanins; phenolics