Heat shock treatment maintains the quality attributes of postharvest jujube fruits and delays their senescence process during cold storage

Abstract

The effects of heat shock (HT), 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), or their combination (HT + 1-MCP) on the quality of fresh jujube fruits during cold storage were studied. Among them, HT showed the best preservation effect on jujube fruits, which was more effective than others in inhibiting the increase of red index, decay incidence, and weight loss and delaying the decrease of firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), and ascorbic acid (AsA) content. Besides, it could delay the degradation rate of the cell wall to maintain the integrity of cell membrane, and keep the high activity of active oxygen scavenging enzymes. During cold storage, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electrolyte leakage (REL) of the HT group were significantly lower than those of the control group, 1-MCP, and HT + 1-MCP group (p < .05), while superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) activities were significantly higher than those of other groups (p < .05). It was concluded that the postharvest HT treatment could effectively delay the senescence and decay of jujube fruits. Practical applicationsJujube fruits have high nutritional value used for food and medicine. However, they are not tolerant to storage after harvest, resulting in high economic losses. Therefore, it is of great significance to find a suitable method to maintain the quality of jujube fruits.Our results revealed the effect of HT, 1-MCP, and their combination on the quality maintenance of jujube fruits, and found that HT could effectively maintain the quality of them, which could be used as an effective method for keeping jujube fruits fresh. K E Y W O R D S cold storage, delay senescence, enzyme activity, fruit quality, heat shock treatment, Ziziphus jujuba Mill 1 | INTRODUC TI ON Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is originated in China, which belongs to the Rhamnaceae family, with a long cultivation history of over 7,000 years (Xiao et al., 2015). The tree is found throughout the world, mainly in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Russia, northern Africa, southern Europe, and India (Hernández et al., 2015). Jujube fruits are widely consumed and popular with people due to their crisp texture, delicious flesh, high nutritional value, and bioactive ingredients (Almansa et al., 2016; Karakaya et al., 2020).

Co-Application of 1-MCP and Laser Microporous Plastic Bag Packaging Maintains Postharvest Quality and Extends the Shelf-Life of Honey Peach Fruit

“…In addition, most fruits lose weight during storage; excessive weight loss causes obvious epidermal shrinkage, wilting, and reduction of tissue hardness [ 21 ]. Appropriate postharvest treatments effectively decrease the physiological metabolism, reduce water loss, and maintain a generally stable nutrient content and appearance [ 22 ]. Kartal et al [ 23 ] showed that a polypropylene microporous membrane (pore size 90 μm, hole number 9) combined with a deoxidizer effectively maintained the pH, SS content, electrical conductivity, and sensory quality of strawberries at 4 °C; it extended the shelf-life of strawberries longer than 4 weeks.…”

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

“…The decrease of visual appearance during cold storage is closely related to weight loss and firmness, which severely affect taste and economic value of post-harvest fruits and vegetables ( Fernández-León et al, 2013 ; Selahle, Sivakumar & Soundy, 2014 ). Some metabolic activities, such as transpiration and respiration, the main factors influencing the increase of weight loss and decrease of firmness with the extension of storage time, occurred in postharvest jujube fruits ( Lufu, Ambaw & Opara, 2020 ; Park et al, 2015 ; Yang et al, 2021 ). Recently, studies on strawberry ( Liu et al, 2018 ), pitaya ( Ba et al, 2021 ), peach ( Gao et al, 2016 ) and plum ( Yan et al, 2022 ) showed that exogenous melatonin significantly inhibited the increases in decay and water loss, and the decline in firmness.…”

“…Ten jujube fruits were weighed using a digital scale (Practum224-1CN; Sartorius, Göttingen, Germany). The weight loss was calculated by the following formula ( Yang et al, 2021 ). …”

Standardization of packaging material, storage durations and chemical treatments on vase life of soft shield fern Polystichum squarrosum (D. Don)

“…Moreover, the maximum weight loss observed during prolonged storage can be attributed to the process of respiration or the breakdown of complex compounds into simple compounds with low molecular weight (Anggraeni, 2021). Senescence processes in cut stems lead to consuming stored food in jujube fruit (Yang et al, 2021).…”