The influence of salinity stress on the growth, appearance, and nutritional compounds, especially phenolic compounds and carotenoids, of romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), a low salt tolerant plant, was studied. The dry weight, height, and color of the lettuce plants were significantly changed by long-term irrigation (15 days) with higher NaCl concentration (i.e., >100 mM). However, no significant differences were observed in the growth and appearance among the control, all short-term treatments (2 days; 50, 100, 500, and 1000 mM), and long-term irrigation with low salt concentration. Moreover, in romaine lettuce treated with long-term irrigation with 5 mM NaCl, the total carotenoid content increased without color change, and the contents of major carotenoids in romaine lettuce, lutein and beta-carotene, increased 37 and 80%, respectively. No differences were observed in lutein and beta-carotene contents in short-term-treated lettuce. The phenolic content of the romaine lettuce declined with short-term salt irrigation, whereas there were no significant differences among treatments exposed to long-term irrigation. This research indicates that long-term irrigation with relatively low salt concentration, rather than short-term irrigation with high salt concentration, can increase carotenoid content in romaine lettuce without causing a tradeoff in yield or visual quality.

The effect of spraying exogenous plant hormone methyl jasmonate (MeJA) upon radish sprout (Raphanus sativus L.) was investigated in aspects of total phenolic content (TPC), isothiocyanate content, antioxidant activity of the radish extract, and enzymatic activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and myrosinase. The MeJA treatment significantly increased the TPC that resulted in the increased DPPH* (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging capacity. In addition, the PAL activity also increased by 60% at 24 h after MeJA treatment. However, the same treatment decreased the amount of 4-methylthio-3-butenylisothiocyanate (MTBITC), a major isothiocyanate in radish sprout and the activity of myrosinase, an enzyme related to produce isothiocyanates.

The effect of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 M) on selected nutritional quality of fresh-cut tomato was investigated. Microbial population of tomato slices stored at 10 degrees C and treated with H2O2 was lower than the control by 1- (0.2 and 0.4 M) and 5-log (0.4 M), 3 and 7 d after processing, respectively. Dipping fresh-cut tomato into H2O2 resulted in reduced phenolic and antioxidant levels after 7 d in storage by at least 5% and 20%, respectively, and produced an initial decline in vitamin C and lycopene. Change in color values in the H2O2 treatments were associated with reduced carotenoid content. Our results confirmed antimicrobial benefits of H2O2 but revealed a compromise in antioxidant and carotenoid contents of fresh-cut tomatoes.

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Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) isoforms were partially purified from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) using various chromatography techniques, and their characteristics of heat stability, substrate affinity, optimum pH, and optimum temperature were investigated. Three PPO isoforms named PO-I, PO-II-1, and PO-II-2 were partially purified from oyster mushroom. The molecular weight of PO-II-1 was 70 kDa and PO-I and PO-II-2 were less than 6 kDa each. Characterization was carried out using a PPO isoform partially purified by hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Optimum temperature was 55 o C and optimum pH 5.0. However, the PPO was inactivated at neutral pH or by heating at 80 o C for 30 min, while the 40% PPO still remained active after heating at 60 o C for 45 min. The PPO isoform showed the highest substrate affinity to chlorogenic acid and pyrogallol, in which KM values were 1.01 and 2.06 mM, respectively. Therefore, these results suggested that the mushrooms should be stored at a pH higher than 7.0 and at a low temperature to prevent enzymatic browning.