Phenolics and carotenoids of 'Maradol' papaya were influenced by postharvest storage temperature with exception of β-carotene and rutin. Ripe papaya stored at 25 °C had more carotenoids than those stored at 1 °C. Low (chilling) temperature (1 °C) negatively affected the content of major carotenoids, except β-carotene, but preserved or increased ferulic and caffeic acids levels, as compared to high (safe) temperature (25 °C).

Abstract:In Mexico black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) fruits are consumed fresh, dried or prepared in jam. Considering the evidence that has linked intake of fruits and vegetables rich in polyphenols to cardiovascular risk reduction, the aim of this study was to characterize the phenolic profile of black cherry fruits and to determine their antioxidant, vasorelaxant and antihypertensive effects. The proximate composition and mineral contents of these fruits were also assessed. Black cherry fruits possess a high content of phenolic compounds and display a significant antioxidant capacity. High-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric analysis indicated that hyperoside, anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid were the main phenolic compounds found in these fruits. The black cherry aqueous extract elicited a concentration-dependent relaxation of aortic rings and induced a OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2013, 18 14598 significant reduction on systolic blood pressure in L-NAME induced hypertensive rats after four weeks of treatment. Proximate analysis showed that black cherry fruits have high sugar, protein, and potassium contents. The results derived from this study indicate that black cherry fruits contain phenolic compounds which elicit significant antioxidant and antihypertensive effects. These findings suggest that these fruits might be considered as functional foods useful for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Mature green 'Maradol' papaya fruits were exposed to ultraviolet (UV)-C irradiation (1.48 kJ·m(-2)) and stored at 5 or 14 °C. Changes in total phenols, total flavonoids, enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD), as well as the scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radicals were investigated in peel and flesh tissues at 0, 5, 10 and 15 days of storage. UV-C irradiation increased significantly (P < 0.05) the flavonoid content (2.5 and 26 %) and ABTS radical scavenging activity (5.7 and 6 %) in flesh and peel at 14 °C respectively; and CAT activity (16.7 %) in flesh at 5 °C. Flavonoid contents, CAT and SOD activities were positively affected under low storage temperature (5 °C). DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities increased in both control and UV-C treated papaya peel during storage at 5 °C. UV-C irradiation effect on radical scavenging of papaya peel could be attributed to increased flavonoid content. Papaya antioxidant system was activated by UV-C and cold storage by increasing phenolic content and antioxidant enzymatic activities as a defense response against oxidative-stress.

Low-temperature conditioning of garlic "seed" cloves accelerated the development of the crop cycle, decreased plant growth, and increased the synthesis of phenolic compounds and anthocyanins in the outer scale leaves of the bulbs at harvest time, leading to 3-fold content increase compared with those conditioned at room temperature. Cold conditioning of "seed" cloves also altered the anthocyanin profile during bulb development and at harvest. Two new anthocyanins are reported for the first time in garlic. The high phenolics and anthocyanin contents in bulbs of plants generated from "seed" cloves conditioned at 5 °C for 5 weeks were preceded by overexpression of some putative genes of the phenolic metabolism [6-fold for phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL)] and anthocyanin synthesis [1-fold for UDP-sugar:flavonoid 3-O-glycosyltransferase (UFGT)] compared with those conditioned at room temperature.

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