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Perishable nature of strawberry poses serious challenges in maintaining quality and extending its market life. In this study, efficacy of macro‐perforated polyethylene terephthalate polyester (PET), low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), and composite film packaging (PET + LDPE) was evaluated to inhibit fungal decay and retain nutritional and organoleptic attributes of strawberries stored at 2 ± 0.5°C. Strawberries packed in LPDE exhibited better moisture retention, least fungal infection, and delayed loss of membrane permeability compared to PET + LDPE and PET. The LDPE film was also more effective in delaying increase in pH and total soluble solids and decline in fruit dry weight, titratable acids, ascorbic acid, and organoleptic acceptability. Overall, marketable life of strawberries packed in LDPE film was 2‐ and 1.5‐fold higher than strawberries packed in either PET or LDPE + PET, respectively. Higher levels of antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide‐dismutase, and peroxidase in LDPE‐packed strawberries suggest that LDPE retained strawberry quality was partly through maintaining ROS‐scavenging mechanism in fruits. Practical applications Low‐density polyethylene film effectively preserves physical and biochemical properties of fresh strawberry fruit and extends its storability under low temperature conditions, an important aspect for long‐distance local marketing and export. Findings of this research can be translated to other highly perishable crops and, with basic research support, local packaging industry can be involved to manufacture commodity‐specific flexible film packaging.

Strawberry fruits are highly perishable and susceptible to microbial decay. In this study, influence of atmospheric pressure, postharvest delay in hypobaric treatment, and combined effect of pressure and exposure duration on storage quality of strawberries were evaluated. Treatment at 40 kPa for 4 h without postharvest delay inhibited fungal decay and retained visual quality which contributed to 13% increase in marketable life of strawberries compared with control. Further study revealed that microbial control and storage quality of strawberries treated either at 20 kPa for 2 h or 40 kPa for 4 h were statistically comparable. After 12 days, strawberries treated at 20 kPa for 2 h had 14.3% higher radical scavenging activity, 13.9% higher phenolic contents and 17.7% higher ascorbic acid than control fruits. Thus, pre‐storage treatment at 20 kPa for 2 h without postharvest delay effectively retained fruit quality and extended storage life of strawberries for 6 more days compared with control. Novelty impact statement Hypobaric treatment is a potential non‐chemical technique used to disinfect and extend storage life of strawberries. Results showed that hypobaric treatment at 20 kPa for 2 h without any postharvest delay can be adopted to disinfect strawberries from microbial infection and to extend marketable life. These findings may help in developing commercial hypobaric technology for perishable and decay‐susceptible fruits and vegetables.

The reduction in shelf-life and nutritional value of cauliflower florets are the most vital problems during cold storage. This research was performed to explore the impact of the pre-harvest foliar implementation of proline (PR), methionine (MT), and melatonin (ML), at a rate of 25 mg.L−1, on shelf-life and active composites of cauliflower florets (cv. ‘Arasya’) stored at 10 °C for 14 d. The obtained results exhibited that florets from treated plants with PR, MT, and ML were lower in water loss, electrolyte leakage, browning index, and titratable acidity (TA) compared with untreated plants, at the end of storage. Furthermore, these pre-harvest treatments significantly slow down the loss of total sugar content, reducing sugar, total soluble solid (TSS), glucosinolates concentration (Gly), total phenols (TP), vitamin C (VC), and antioxidant activity (DPPH) than control samples. After 14 days of storage, the application of PR, MT, and ML significantly improved the activity levels of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), and catalase (CAT) as well as declined the polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD) activates in the florets during the cold storage. Therefore, the pre-harvest application of PR, MT, and ML might be promising substances to keep the nutritional quality of cauliflower forests and reduce the browning index during cold storage.

Indeed, MCR technology is widely acknowledged now for its impact on drug discovery projects and is strongly supported by industry as well as academia. Uracil is an important one of the five nucleobases and significantly important because of their biological properties; of which 6-amino uracil is most important and can act as nucleophile and electrophile. 6-Aminouracils being rich are used as starting materials for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds of biological significance such as pyrido-, pyrazolo, pyrimido and pyrimidines derivatives. 5,6,7,8-tetrahydropyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione have been synthesized by various conventional methods. However, these methods have drawbacks such as unsatisfactory yields and tedious work-up etc.  In the present work, we would like to report a new route for the synthesis of 5,6,7,8-tetrahydropyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine-2,4 (1H,3H)-dione in MCRs.