New image analysis method for the estimation of global and spatial changes in fruit microstructure

Abstract

A new image analysis method for the spatial characterization of microscopy images of fruit microstructure is proposed in order to analyse the heterogeneous microstructure of unprocessed fruit and the possible inhomogeneous effects of various technological treatments on this microstructure. The micro-structure of tissue samples was characterized using the global statistics of size and shape parameters calculated for all visible objects. Global analysis was supported by a novel algorithm that allowed for drawing of the maps of the cell wall fraction from microscopy images and for the analysis of both global and local compaction or loosening of tissue. The spatial distribution of the cell wall fraction was visualised in the convenient form of bivariate histograms. To test the developed image analysis protocols, structural changes resulting from ultrasonic and osmotic treatments of apple tissue samples were studied. Peeled and cored apples were submersed in a liquid medium (distilled water or 60 °Bx sucrose solution) for 45 and 90 min with and without ultrasonic treatment. After these treatment procedures, tissue samples were cut into slices, stained and imaged using a microscope. The proposed method allowed to characterise the effects of different sample treatments.

Parametric mapping of cellular morphology in plant tissue sections by gray level granulometry

“…Pieczywek et al [14] computed parametric mapping of cell wall fraction obtained from mathematical morphology operators. Variations of cellular morphology within plant organs can be investigated through the distance to the boundary or to a reference structure [15][16][17][18].…”

“…Variations of cellular morphology within plant organs can be investigated through the distance to the boundary or to a reference structure [15][16][17][18]. Concentric regions have also been investigated [7,11,14]. However, no generic method for constructing parametric mappings of cellular morphology within plant organs seems to exist.…”

Solute Transfer in Osmotic Dehydration of Vegetable Foods: A Review

“…Recent publications have addressed solute transfer from a microstructural approach, considering the properties of the material (that is, porosity, density, shrinkage, specific volume, tortuosity, permeability), the physical properties of the solute (that is, particle size, molecular weight, molar volume), as well as the structural and the mechanical properties changes in the food (Aguilera ; Mayor and others ; Seguí and others ; Pieczywek and others ; Ramya and Jain ). However, studies about solute transfer have not included the influence of the chemical composition of the plant tissue and its interaction with the chemical properties of the osmotic solution.…”

“…Afterward, the 2nd cell layer begins to pump water to the 1st cell layer and then shrink. These structural changes have been studied to determine the association between cellular structure and the water and solutes transfer in OD (Lerici and others ; Cháfer and others ; Matusek and Merész ; Mauro and others ; Mayor and others ; Mebatsion and others ; Tortoe ; Sluka and others ; Pieczywek and others ).…”