Shelf life and biochemical changes of ready-to-eat arils among nineteen Iranian pomegranate cultivars (Punica granatum L.) during storage

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the shelf life of arils and the changes in their biochemical compounds in nineteen Iranian pomegranate cultivars during storage. Fruits were harvested when commercially mature and the arils were removed, packaged and stored at 5 ± 1°C, at 85-90% relative humidity in a cold room. Samples of the stored arils were examined for biochemical features in temporal checkpoints throughout a storage period that lasted for 35 days. By using the onset of decay as an index, the shelf life of arils varied among cultivars, ranging from 7 days to approximately 21 days. Considering the quality attributes of ready-to-eat arils at the beginning of the experiment, substantial variations were observed among the cultivars with regard to their titratable acidity (0.50-8.47%), total soluble solids (13-18.66°Brix), DPPH radical scavenging activity (63-87.44%), Gallic-acid-equivalent (2.64-6.95 mg/ml) and ascorbic acid (12.21-75.09 mg/l). In general, the decay of arils gradually increased during storage, but several cultivars-which exhibited a very slow process of decaycontained the highest content of titratable acidity, Gallicacid-equivalent and total soluble solids (since the signs of decay appeared on around the twenty-first day of storage). In addition, titratable acidity increased slightly by the end of storage, whereas the ascorbic acid content, total soluble solids and Gallic-acid-equivalent were cultivar-dependent and did not show consistent patterns of change during storage.

Ultrasonic potential in maintaining the quality and reducing the microbial load of minimally processed pomegranate

“…Then, arils placed in a basket till air-dried. One part of prepared arils were immediately analyzed in order to demonstrate day zero quality and thereafter, about 300 g of arils were randomly divided into three lots of 100 g, were put on the polystyrene boxes, then were kept at 5 °C and 90% RH [21] to be analyzed at 3-day intervals for 15 days.…”

“…Botrytis cinerea , Aspergillus niger , Penicillium spp. and Alternaria spp are the main pathogens cause contamination of arils [21] Hence, new techniques are needed to preserve arils quality considered as human-safe. It has been reported the effects of storage temperature [22] , and coating treatments [23] , [18] on contamination reduction and prolongation of the pomegranate arils shelf life.…”

Environmental and geographical conditions influence color, physical properties, and physiochemical composition of pomegranate fruits

“…This contradicted previous findings that the ascorbic acid concentration in pomegranate cultivars did not change considerably across climates 15 . Other research indicates that genetic variation and the climatic area cultivated influence the vitamin C value of pomegranate fruit 21 , 22 .…”

Morphological Characterization of Southern Jalisco, Mexico, Pomegranate Genotypes Using AFLP Markers

“…In recent years, pomegranate industrialization has increased considerably in United States markets. There are more than 500 sub-products made from different parts of the plant [2], including beverages [3], food products (jams and jellies), dietary supplements [4], packaged readyto-eat fresh or prepared fruit [5], capsules, softgels, tablets, seed oil, juice, tea, lipstick, lip balms, eye and face cream, masques, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body scrub, lotion, toothpaste and soap [6], and food preservers [7]. The high demand is related mainly to its antioxidant properties that benefit health [8][9][10][11][12].…”