Exogenous melatonin treatment on post-harvest jujube fruits maintains physicochemical qualities during extended cold storage

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the visual appearance and physicochemical changes of postharvest jujube fruits (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. Shucuizao) stored under 0 °C for 15 days. The fruits were dipped in 0 (control), 50, 100, 200 and 400 µM melatonin solutions after harvest. The results showed that treatment with a suitable melatonin concentration improved the rate of crisp fine fruits, delayed weight loss and firmness decline, and suppressed changes in total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA) contents of jujube fruits compared with the control. In addition, jujube fruits soaked with melatonin showed improved antioxidant capacity through increased ascorbic acid (AsA) content, enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and decreased malonaldehyde (MDA) content. As a result, 50 µM melatonin showed the greatest improvement of visual appearance and quality maintenance, and could be used as an effective treatment to preserve postharvest jujube fruit.

Exogenous melatonin delays oxidative browning in litchi during cold storage by regulating biochemical attributes and gene expression

“…Several other researchers have also reported that melatonin administration delayed the decline of TSS during storage ( Miranda et al., 2020 ; Nasser et al., 2022 ). Similarly, administration of melatonin in strawberries ( Liu et al., 2018 ), pitaya ( Ba et al., 2021 ), kiwi fruit ( Wang et al., 2019 ), jujube ( Wang et al., 2022 ), and citrus navel orange ( Ma et al., 2021 ) during postharvest storage resulted in less degradation of TSS and TA. This slow decline in TSS and TA might be attributed to melatonin’s ability to reduce respiration and senescence, thus preserving soluble solids, carbohydrates, and organic acids.…”

Exogenous Application of Melatonin on the Preservation of Physicochemical and Enzymatic Qualities of Pepper Fruit from Chilling Injury

“…Zhang et al [16] reported that MT treatment can effectively reduce WL in fruits by enhancing antioxidant activity and controlling reactive oxygen-induced stress. Wang et al [10] tested the different concentrations of MT treatments to control jujube fruit quality, and their findings revealed that increasing the concentration of MT positively enhanced the fruit quality and controlled the WL by limiting the senescence process. This is in accordance with the present study.…”

“…Among the tested AO enzymes in the pepper fruits, CAT activity was predominant, followed by SOD and POD activity. The prolonged exposure to low temperatures might activate the enzymatic AO system in pepper fruits to respond to physiological stress by increasing the activities of SOD, CAT, and POD [10]. Rodríguez-Ruiz et al [5] reported that CAT activity in pepper fruit is higher than that of SOD and POD due to the modulation of the CAT gene and its activities during the fruit ripening and senescence process.…”

“…MT treatments have been shown to prevent membrane lipid peroxidation and maintain a higher ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids, thus preserving the cell structure and function and, delaying the development of CI in fruits and other produce [9]. MT treatment could enhance the antioxidant defense system in plants by increasing the activity of SOD, POD, CAT, and the AsA-GSH cycle and thus increase the scavenging ability of ROS, thereby protecting the plants from oxidative damage caused by chilling stress [10]. Kong et al [11] reported that MT treatment up-regulates the transcription level of genes associated with antioxidant enzymes in bell peppers and increases the content of proline, which acts as an antioxidant and thus effectively reduces the CI in pepper fruit.…”

Table_1.docx

“…Several other researchers have also reported that melatonin administration delayed the decline of TSS during storage (Miranda et al, 2020;Nasser et al, 2022). Similarly, administration of melatonin in strawberries (Liu et al, 2018), pitaya (Ba et al, 2021), kiwi fruit (Wang et al, 2019), jujube (Wang et al, 2022), and citrus navel orange (Ma et al, 2021) during postharvest storage resulted in less degradation of TSS and TA. This slow decline in TSS and TA might be attributed to melatonin's ability to reduce respiration and senescence, thus preserving soluble solids, carbohydrates, and organic acids.…”