The effects of chitosan coating on delaying ripening and reducing decay of mango fruits (Mangifera indica L. cv. Tainong) were investigated in this article. The fruits were treated with 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0% chitosan solution, respectively, and were stored at 15C, 85-90% relative humidity. Results showed that the ripening of mango fruits was significantly delayed by the treatment of chitosan coating in a concentration-dependent manner. Among them, the 2.0% chitosan coating was the most effective. Respiration rate, loss of firmness and color change in mango fruits was efficiently inhibited by chitosan coating during storage. The color index in the mango fruits treated with 2.0% chitosan was 58.4% lower (P < 0.05), and firmness was 43.6% higher (P < 0.05) than those of the control after 16 days of storage. Changes of parameters associated with fruit ripening processes were also determined in this study. The declines in titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and fruit weight were all effectively inhibited by chitosan coating, but the increase in total soluble solids was retarded during storage. Disease progress in the mango fruits inoculated with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides was significantly inhibited by the treatment with chitosan coating. The disease incidence and lesion diameter in the fruits treated with 2.0% chitosan were 71.3 and 49.8% lower (P < 0.05) than that in the control fruits after 4 and 16 days of inoculation, respectively. These results suggested that the application of chitosan coating may exhibit a potential for delaying ripening and reducing decay of mango fruits during storage in practice.3 Corresponding 770 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSMangoes, one of the climacteric fruits, ripen rapidly after harvest and are easily infected by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, which leads to considerable postharvest losses, and limits the storage, handling and transport potential of mango fruits. In spite of the efficiency in controlling postharvest pathogenic diseases, fungicides are becoming limited because of the development of fungicide resistance by pathogens, and the negative effects on human health and environment as a result of the excessive application of synthetic fungicides. Therefore, alternative approaches need to be developed for delaying ripening and reducing postharvest decay of mango fruits. Chitosan is a high molecular weight cationic polysaccharide obtained by alkaline deacetylation of chitin, exhibiting excellent film-forming properties, antifungal activity and safety to human. In this study, chitosan coating could effectively delay ripening, reduce decay and extend the storage life of mango fruits. These results indicated that chitosan coating might be an alternative and practical approach for extending the postharvest life of mango fruits. 772X. ZHU ET AL.

To learn how salicylic acid (SA) may affect disease resistance in mango, mango fruit (Mangifera indica L. cv. 'Matisu') were treated with 1 mmol L −1 SA solution under vacuum infiltration for 2 min at a low pressure (−80 kPa) and for an additional 10 min at air pressure. The fruit were inoculated with anthracnose (Colletotichum gloeosporioides Penz.) spore suspension (1 × 10 4 CFU mL −1 ) and incubated at 13 • C, 85-95% RH. Disease incidence and lesion diameter in/on the SA-treated fruit were 37.5% and 20.9% lower than that in/on control fruit on the 4th day of incubation. The study further showed that activities of defensive enzymes in the fruit were significantly enhanced by SA treatment. The activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and β-1,3-glucanase in the SA-treated fruit was over 6-or 0.9-fold higher than that in control fruit on the 4th day after the fruit being treated with SA, respectively. Level of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) or superoxide radicals (O 2 − ) generation rate in SA-treated fruit was 22.3% or 79.4% higher than that in controls on the 8th day after the fruit being treated with SA, respectively. These results suggested that PAL and β-1,3-glucanase, as well as H 2 O 2 or O 2 − , may be involved in the enhancement of disease resistance in mango fruit.

The beneficial effects of SA on fruit protection may be due to its ability to activate several highly coordinated defence-related systems in jujubes, instead of its fungicidal activity. The findings indicated that application of SA would offer an alternative approach that helps to control postharvest disease and maintain storage quality in fruits.

BackgroundIt is a widespread belief in Asian countries that mung bean soup (MBS) may afford a protective effect against heat stress. Lack of evidence supports MBS conferring a benefit in addition to water.ResultsHere we show that vitexin and isovitexin are the major antioxidant components in mungbean (more than 96% of them existing in the bean seed coat), and both of them could be absorbed via gavage into rat plasma. In the plasma of rats fed with mungbean coat extract before or after exposure to heat stress, the levels of malonaldehyde and activities of lactate dehydrogenase and nitric oxide synthase were remarkably reduced; the levels of total antioxidant capacity and glutathione (a quantitative assessment of oxidative stress) were significantly enhanced.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that MBS can play additional roles to prevent heat stress injury. Characterization of the mechanisms underlying mungbean beneficial effects should help in the design of diet therapy strategies to alleviate heat stress, as well as provide reference for searching natural medicines against oxidative stress induced diseases.

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Background:Prevalence estimates of heterotopic ossification (HO) following cervical artificial disc replacement (ADR) varied widely in previous studies. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize its point prevalence.Methods:Electronic searches of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were conducted to identify studies that reported prevalence of HO. Definitions of HO and severe HO were based on McAfee grading system. Random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence. We conducted subgroup analyses according to the different length of follow-up time, and performed univariate metaregression analyses to explore the effects of potential variables on the overall prevalence.Results:A total of 38 studies were included in this study. The pooled data showed that the prevalence of HO after cervical ADR within the 1 to 2 years, 2 to 5 years, and 5 to10 years of follow-up was 38.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 30.2%–46.5%), 52.6% (95% CI, 43.1%–61.9%), and 53.6% (95% CI, 40.0%–66.7%), respectively, while the prevalence of severe HO was 10.9% (95% CI, 9.0%–13.2%), 22.2% (95% CI, 15.5%–30.7%), and 47.5% (95% CI, 30.0%–65.8%), respectively. Follow-up time was positively associated with the prevalence of severe HO (P < .01), and the 1-month growth of mean follow-up went with 0.63% increase of severe HO.Conclusion:This meta-analysis reported data on the prevalence of HO and severe HO after cervical ADR, and provided information on its process of development. These should be useful to enable surgeons and patients to gain a better understanding of HO after cervical ADR.

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