Black tomatoes have a unique color and higher lycopene content than typical red tomatoes. Here, black tomatoes were investigated how maturation stage and storage temperature affected carotenoid and chlorophyll accumulation. Immature fruits were firmer than mature fruits, but failed to develop their distinctive color and contained less lycopene when stored at 8 °C. Hunter a values of black tomatoes increased with storage temperature and duration; storage of immature fruits at high temperature favored lycopene accumulation. Chlorophyll levels of black tomatoes declined during storage, but differences between mature and immature tomatoes stored at 12 °C were minimal. β-Carotene levels of black tomatoes increased during early storage, but rapidly declined beginning 13 d post-harvest. The highest lycopene and chlorophyll levels were observed in mature black tomatoes stored at 12 °C for 13 d; these conditions also yielded the best quality fruit. Thus, the unique pigmentation properties of black tomatoes can be precisely controlled by standardizing storage conditions.

Three cultivars of green pepper with unique fruit shapes, 'Kkwariput', 'Gilsang', and 'Cheongyang', were investigated for changes in physiology and functional compounds during storage to optimize postharvest management. The results showed that the respiration and ethylene production rates of 'Gilsang' were lower than those of 'Kkwariput' and 'Cheongyang', having the lowest weight loss during storage at both 4℃ and 20℃. The 'Cheongyang' pepper exhibited the highest firmness among the three cultivars, and it remained high until the end of storage. The soluble solids content and the titratable acidity were significantly higher in 'Cheongyang' than in 'Gilsang' and 'Kkwariput'. With regards to fruit color, in all three cultivars the L* values decreased while the a* values increased with storage time. Based on the appearance index, 'Cheongyang' had a longer shelf life at 20℃ than 'Gilsang' or 'Kkwariput'. However, 'Gilsang' showed the lowest seed browning rate at 5 day at 20℃ among the three cultivars after 14 day of cold storage at 4℃. The results of functional compounds analysis showed that capsaicin content increased with storage time, with the highest content found in 'Cheongyang'. Antioxidant capacity, as determined by ABTS and DPPH assays, increased with storage time, and 'Cheongyang' showed higher antioxidant retention capacity than 'Gilsang' and 'Kkwariput'. The highest vitamin C content was also found in 'Cheongyang'. Based on the overall superior results of the 'Cheongyang' cultivar, this study suggests a close correlation between the retention capacity of functional compounds and the shelf life in green peppers.

This study investigated the physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant activities of buckwheat Soksungjang and commercial Doenjang. We analyzed moisture, total sugar, color, salinity, amino type nitrogen, amino acids, and antioxidant activities. Buckwheat Soksungjang had lower salinity content (7.44±0.10%) than commercial Doenjang (8.82-9.81%). The quercetin content of buckwheat Soksungjang was 0.78±0.01 mg% while commercial Doenjang’s was 0.29-1.16 mg%. The DPPH and content of the total polyphenol of buckwheat Soksungjang (DPPH radical scavenging activity 62.21±0.45% and total polyphenol content 447.51±14.61 mg%) and commercial Doenjang (DPPH radical scavenging activities: 44.07-68.50%; total polyphenol contents: 328.26-407.51 mg%) were both significant.