Ozone washing decreases strawberry susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea while maintaining antioxidant, optical and sensory quality

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of ozone washing (maximum concentration 3.5 mgL -1 - 5 and 15 min) on Botrytis cinerea decay, physicochemical parameters, bioactive compounds, in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity, and sensory properties of strawberries cv. Albion throughout refrigerated storage at 5 ± 1 °C. A 5 min long ozonation delayed the onset of B. cinerea infection by 4 days, and significantly reduced its incidence as storage progressed (~17 % lesser than in control at day 8), without impairing physicochemical parameters or sensory quality. This treatment did not affect the antioxidant activity of strawberry extracts neither in in vitro (ORAC and ABTS assays) or in vivo assays using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism. Higher ozone doses did not achieve greater reduction of B. cinerea decay throughout the storage period. This study demonstrated that exposing strawberries to a 5 min long aqueous ozone treatment could extend their storability at 5 °C.

Aqueous ozone: Chemistry, physiochemical properties, microbial inactivation, factors influencing antimicrobial effectiveness, and application in food

“…For better exposure to ozone action, microbes are expected to get detached from the plant tissue and release into the medium (Cullen et al, 2010). It has also been reported that the defence mechanisms of plants play a major role in the antimicrobial activity of ozone (Contigiani et al, 2020). The resistance response to any microbial attack is proven to be dependent on the dose and is associated with the cell wall reinforcement, the build-up of phenolics with pathogenesis-related proteins and antimicrobial activity, and the stimulation of antioxidative systems.…”

Study of UV-C treatments on postharvest life of blueberries ‘O'Neal’ and correlation between structure and quality parameters

“…A spotinoculation method was used; 10 μl of the conidia suspension were inoculated in a small injury made at the picking scar. Finally, inoculated blueberries were kept at 21 AE 2 C overnight in a laminar air flow cabinet to promote mould adhesion (Contigiani et al, 2020a). B. cinerea incidence was evaluated daily by visual inspection, as previously described for native mycobiota.…”

Impacts of salicylic acid, chitosan, and salicyloyl chitosan on quality preservation and microbial load reduction in strawberry fruits during cold storage

“…There is a considerable requirement for alleviation of strawberry losses caused by fungus infection during distribution and storage of fruits by employing the economical and convenient procedure in order to potentiate longer postharvest life. Great efforts have been done by researchers for alleviating postharvest losses of strawberry fruits during storage by applying postharvest treatments such as salicylic acid (Babalar et al, 2007; Hosseinifarahi et al, 2020), heat (Caleb et al, 2016; Langer et al, 2018), abscisic acid or methyl jasmonate (El‐Mogy et al, 2019), Aloe vera gel and ascorbic acid (Sogvar et al, 2016), A. vera gel and basil essential oil (Mohammadi, Tanaka, & Tanaka, 2021), chitosan or calcium chloride (Nguyen et al, 2020; Pavinatto et al, 2020), and ozone (Contigiani et al, 2020).…”

“…Fruits coating with edible and non‐toxic compounds such as chitosan and salicylic acid can be used for decreasing microbial rots and respiration rate and maintaining their postharvest sensory and quality and extending fruits' postharvest life (Contigiani et al, 2020). Due to non‐toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity, chitosan (CS) can be used as a promising edible and biologically safe preservative coating for maintaining sensory and nutritional quality of fruits (Fernandes et al, 2020; Jongsri et al, 2016).…”