Effect of ethanol fumigation on pericarp browning associated with phenol metabolism, storage quality, and antioxidant systems of wampee fruit during cold storage

Abstract

Wampee fruit is a popular fruit cultivar in South‐East Asia due to its high levels of nutrients and antioxidants; however, pericarp browning leads to a short storage life with great economic loss during years. The purpose of this work was to determine whether postharvest ethanol fumigation affected pericarp browning development of wampee fruit during 12 days of storage at 8 ± 0.5°C, and if so, how it is related to phenol metabolism and how it affects quality attributes and antioxidant systems during storage. After fruits were fumigated with 100, 300, 500, and 800 μl/L for 5 hr at 22 ± 0.5°C, ethanol significantly reduced the development of pericarp browning by increasing total phenolics (TP) content and decreasing the activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), especially in 500 μl/L ethanol treatment. Additionally, ethanol delayed the losses in fruit firmness (FF), soluble solid content (SSC), and titratable acidity (TA), retarded weight loss and accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) content and maintained relatively high contents of ascorbic acid (AsA), total flavonoids (TF), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD). In conclusion, results demonstrated that postharvest ethanol fumigation in wampee fruit has ability to reduce pericarp browning development by regulating phenol metabolism and enhancing antioxidant systems.

Effect of calcium treatment on the browning of harvested eggplant fruits and its relation to the metabolisms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phenolics

“…ROS scavenging systems play a key role in reducing ROS and stabilizing the cell membrane structure during fruit storage (Hodges et al., 2004 ; Shao et al., 2020 ). To analyze the oxidation status during storage, we examined the contents of H 2 O 2 and O 2 − , which are two major stable ROS.…”

“…The total phenolic content was detected as previously described (Habibi & Ramezanian, 2017 ; Shao et al., 2020 ). One gram of pulp tissue from 5 fruits was ground in liquid nitrogen.…”

“…ROS scavenging systems play a key role in reducing ROS and stabilizing the cell membrane structure during fruit storage (Hodges et al, 2004;Shao et al, 2020 5). We also detected the activities of peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD).…”

A Combination of Melatonin and Ethanol Treatment Improves Postharvest Quality in Bitter Melon Fruit

“…A previous study had reported that the accumulation of reactive oxygen may be induced by membrane integrity loss and membrane lipid peroxidation [ 23 ]. Shao et al [ 31 ] found that the pericarp browning of wampee fruit treated with ethanol was effectively restrained, which may be related to the cell membrane protection caused by the ethanol-induced decrease in MDA content. A previous study concluded that the application of MT promoted the increase of cold resistance of Camellia sinensis L. by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes and upregulating the transcript abundance of antioxidant genes [ 8 ].…”

“…As reported by Liu et al [ 25 ], the antioxidant capacity of strawberry was greatly promoted by MT via increasing the accumulation of total phenols, flavonoids, and endogenous MT. Shao et al [ 31 ] stated that ethanol treatment can effectively maintain fruit quality and increase antioxidant capacity by altering the related enzyme activities of phenol metabolism. Therefore, the combined treatment of MT and ethanol can maintain the postharvest quality of bitter melon fruit by keeping higher levels of chlorophyll, TSSs, soluble sugar, soluble protein, and AsA.…”